Forbidden Love
by The Pale Red Queen
Summary: William Herondale is the prince of Idris. His parents want him to marry someone he absolutely hates against his own will. Will escapes from the life he had known for freedom, only to find himself lost and abandoned. Unexpectedly, he is soon under the care of a commoner, Tessa Gray. Could she show him a new side of life? Could this girl change everything that Will had ever known?
1. The Herondales

**Hey everyone! So, it's been a while since I've posted a TID fic. I decided to take a short break from my Dark Artifices fic and start this one and see how it goes. I have the whole thing outlined, so hopefully I can update fast! Enjoy the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :)**

* * *

William Herondale hated his life. Okay maybe that was an understatement. But being the prince of the most powerful kingdom in all the land wasn't easy at all, especially when you had your whole life was laid out for you. And you could not do a thing to change it.

King Edmund and Queen Linette had ruled the kingdom of Idris for over twenty years. They had three children together: Ella, Will, and Cecily. Ella was the eldest, but unfortunately was dead, so that put Will next in line for the throne. And since Will was nearly eighteen, he needed to find a bride to marry and fast. Of course, Will had met all the eligible princesses, but his parents were the main force in deciding who would be Will's destined one.

That was not the only reason why Will hated his life though. Everything had changed ever since Ella had died. And Will could only blame himself for the result of her death. He was the one who encouraged her to venture out of the castle borders and see what was there. He told her to be brave and not always be confined to their parents' rules. Will's foolishness and naivety caused Ella to die. Sure, she had gone out of her way to see what truly was out there, but she could not last a minute outside palace borders. Soon after she was robbed and then brutally murdered and left to rot in the forests outside of Idris.

Ella's death took a toll on both the Herondale family and the entire kingdom. King Edmund became even stricter and more isolated. The once loving king was now coldhearted and uncaring. All the villages within Idris had come under harsh rule. No one ever saw the royal family, everyone was living under extreme poverty, and there was never enough food to feed even one person. Edmund and Linette were completely oblivious to most of this. They not only neglected the people of their land, but Will and Cecily. Cecily still remained to be herself, since she was young and could not really sense this change. Will, however, took after his father and was more aloof and was rude to practically everyone.

That was everyone except for James Carstairs.

James, or Jem as Will had called him for as long as he could remember, was his personal servant and his best friend. Will's only friend actually. Jem understood Will completely and never forced Will to reveal his deepest, darkest secrets. He was kind, gentle, and pure, everything that Will was not. Will wished that he could be like Jem, but knew he could not. Even though Jem was a servant, Will saw past that. That was one way he differed from his father.

Sometimes Will wished he could be a servant like Jem. Jem had so much more freedom than Will, even if he wasn't living the life of luxury. Although, all the wealth and material things did not matter to Will. Everyone would have desperately wanted to be Will Herondale, prince and soon to be king of Idris. But all he wanted was freedom from his repressive life.

Will stared down at his hands, which were marked with tiny scars and calluses. Edmund Herondale had Will learn how to be a fighter and be trained at the hand since the time he was twelve. Will was very skilled, but never had any use to really fight. But then again, it made him even more appealing as a prince when it came time for him to find a princess.

King Edmund had gathered various princesses from all different kingdoms across the land. For the past few weeks, Will had met with each and every one of them. Not that that made a difference though. In the end, it was not Will who chose the future queen, but King Edmund and Queen Linette did. Will didn't care much about this, since he hated every princess he met. They were all spoiled, annoying, and selfish. It seemed the only thing they each absorbed in Will was his looks. Will could hardly blame them. He was fully aware of his handsome appearance: messy black hair, fully lips, angular features, and deep cerulean eyes. The perfect package for an eligible prince.

There was a knock at the door and Will looked up, distracting himself from his thoughts.

"Come in," Will said in a loud voice. The door opened and Jem stood at the threshold. He always had an ethereal glow to him, with his pale skin, silver hair, and matching silver eyes. Jem had a life-threatening illness when he was young and barely survived it. Thankfully he was able to live, but that resulted with the cost of his appearance to change from what it once was before. This had no affect on Will, and he would always love Jem like the brother he never had.

Jem stepped in and bowed to Will, as servants always did to the Herondales. Will rolled his eyes at that; he had asked Jem countless times not to be so formal with him. Jem was dressed in his usual garb: tattered brown pants tucked into a pair of boots with a loose white shirt that slightly revealed his collarbone.

"Master Will," Jem started to say, but Will interrupted.

"How many times must I tell you Jem, but please call me Will," Will said sternly.

"Of course," Jem chuckled, "your mother and father demand your presence right now. They are ready for you." Will immediately knew what this meant and his body tensed up. Jem walked over and placed a hand on Will's shoulder, causing Will to relax his muscles.

"Don't be nervous Will," Jem said calmly. Leave it to Jem to make Will feel better. "I'll be in the room with me. I'll always be by your side."

Will smiled at Jem then stood up, dusting his pants off. He wore what he usually did, a crisp white shirt tucked into dark pants with black leather boots laced up and a midnight blue cape draped over his back, the Herondale colour. "Let's just get this over with," Will said to his friend. Jem nodded and walked out the door, Will following in his suit.

Jem led Will down the stone corridor of the castle, walking at a good pace. The Herondale's castle, which they called the Institute, was in the center of Idris and had housed the Herondales for generations. It was surrounded by a moat and tall gates and was nearly impossible to escape. Only servants like Jem were allowed outside the castle. Even more the reason for Will wanting to be one.

"Jem, if you had it your way, would you be a prince?" Will asked Jem curiously.

Jem shrugged. "It depends. I mean sure you have the life of loyalty. But it comes with a price of not having much freedom. Although, I would enjoy the luxury of having whatever you want." He seemed distant, his silver eyes wistful.

"You still have it better though," Will argued, "I mean you don't have anyone controlling your every bit of your life."

"You would think so William, but you're wrong. You forget that I work for the king and that I do not always have it my way." Will slouched his shoulders in resignation. "Look, I know your nervous about what path your parents have planned for you, but whatever it is, you must take it with an open mind and learn to accept it. Marriage is just a part of life and you will get used to it." Jem always knew what to say to Will, and was already making him feel better.

Jem stopped in front of two large wooden double doors. They had reached the throne room, presumably where the king and queen were situated in.

"Take a deep breath Will," Jem instructed Will and smiled at him, "you'll be fine." With that, he pushed the doors open to reveal the grandeur of the throne room. It was one of the largest in the Institute, apart from the ballroom and the dining room. Tapestries with the Herondale crest, a two herons in flight atop a midnight background, lined the stone walls on either side. Cecily, Will's younger sister, was leaning against the wall between two of the tapestries, eyeing him carefully. The floor was bare, apart from a rug that covered the center. At the far end of the room were two thrones, both outlined in rich gold and silver. Sitting in one of them was Edmund Herondale and in the other was his wife, Linette.

Edmund Herondale was a broad-shouldered man who looked nothing like Will. He had light blue eyes and fair hair, and always wore an expression of contempt. Will and Cecily were exact copies of Linette Herondale, with jet black hair and dark blue eyes. It was striking.

"Your majesty," Jem said, addressing the king and queen with a bow, "I have brought you Master William, as you requested."

"Thank you James," King Edmund said in his booming voice, dismissing Jem. Jem went to stand beside Cecily, who gave him an anxious look. The two of them were also friends, although nowhere near as close as Will and Jem were. "Come here William," Edmund demanded.

Will swallowed hard and approached his parents until he was at the foot of their thrones.

"As you know, William, you are almost a man," Edmund started. Like Will did not know. "You have met all of the available princesses in the land. After much consideration, your mother and I have examined each and every one of them and we have come to a consensus." Here was the moment Will was not waiting for. He just wanted to get this over with. "We have decided that you and Jessamine Lovelace are to be wed. My time here as king is almost fulfill, and it would be imperative if you both resume the kingdom as soon as possible."

So many thoughts were swimming around in Will's mind. Jessamine Lovelace. Of all the princesses that were out there, he just had to be paired with the one he disliked the most. He hated Jessamine the minute he met her. She was from the neighboring kingdom of Lyn, where her family had also ruled for generations. She was petite with large brown eyes and long, golden eyes. She was stunningly beautiful, but had the demeanor of a ferret. Will absolutely detested her.

And now Will's life was now about to become a living hell.

* * *

**So, do you want me to continue? Sorry for the introductions and all. It's necessary for what is to come. And I promise, Tessa will come soon! This is a Wessa story after all!**

**Could I get three reviews for the next chapter? :)**


	2. Midnight Escape

"I just don't understand!" Will shouted in frustration, kicking his foot against his wooden bedpost, sending a sharp sense of pain through his entire body.

"That looks like it hurt," Jem said with an amused tone, a smile playing upon his lips.

"Shut up, Carstairs," Will said, and Jem's smile began to vanish quickly. Although, the pain was becoming increasingly excruciating in Will. Leave it to Will to do something rash before thinking fully about it. That was another way that he and Jem differed. Jem usually looked at things rationally and thought everything through, whereas Will rushed in head first into a situation. "I'm sorry Jem. I'm just so angry." Will grunted in irritation.

"At your parents or at Jessamine?" Jem asked.

"At both!" Will exclaimed, running his hand through his black hair and ruffling his already messy hair, a gesture he often did when he was annoyed. "I hate how they always dictate my lives. I mean who are they to choose who I want to spend the rest of my life with? And that would certainly not be Jessamine."

Will and Jem were back in Will's chamber. After the king and queen had delivered the most unfortunate news to their son, Will had stalked back angrily to his room, Jem on his tail. Jem was leaning against the wall next to the doorframe, and Will was lounging on one of the armchairs by the fireplace. Will could swear that everyone in the castle could here his angry shouts.

"You know it would be best for the kingdom," Jem said, trying to rationalize with Will. Will knew Jem was right, but he just could not accept this. Jem continued, "you, being next in line for the throne needs to marry a princess."

"But there are so many more out there," Will argued, "and of the ten or twenty that I met, they just had to choose Jessamine, the one that I most detested." Will walked over to his bed and flopped down on his back, staring at the stone ceiling. "Sometimes, I wish that I was not a prince. That I could live life freely without anyone telling me what to do. I feel that living in these castle walls, no one seems to care about what I do. They only do at times like this. If no one cares for you at all, do you even really exist?" He said that last part more to himself and so quietly that he doubted Jem heard that.

"What was that?" Jem asked, perking his head up and staring Will. Scratch that last thought.

"Nothing," Will said, sitting up and shaking his head. At this moment, Will would kill to be a servant, or a butcher, or a farmer, or anything else in the kingdom other than a prince. If only he could…

"I know," Will suddenly stood up straight and walked across the room to Jem until they were facing each other, an idea fresh in his head.

"What is it?" Jem's angular silver eyes widened in curiosity.

"What if I were to disguise myself as a commoner and live outside these castle boundaries?" Will's eyes were alight with thought, though Jem gave him a dubious look. "What if I were to run away from here and start anew? I could change who I am and try to be someone else other than a prince."

"Will, you won't last five minutes out there in the real world," Jem said, shaking his head with the slightest hesitation.

Will sensed this and went on, "I know you won't disagree with me James. And I know you were probably thinking the same. It's the only way I can avoid this horrible marriage. My parents won't listen to me no matter how much I protest."

Jem sighed in defeat. "I suppose you are right. You always are William, and there is no use in trying to argue with you." Will felt hopeful again, glad that his best friend was agreeing with him. "And, how do you propose to escape?" Jem inquired.

"Hmmm," Will thought about it hard, "I could disguise myself as a commoner by wearing their clothes." He eyed Jem's servant clothes and grinned at them.

"What?" Jem asked and then followed Will's eyes. Jem's eyes widened even more in understanding. "Oh no you don't William. You know I don't own many of these."

"Please James. You know how much this means to me. Besides, I only need two pairs. One for the road and one just to keep in hand." Will looked up at Jem, enlarging his eyes and putting on a guilty face.

"Fine, William," Jem said in resignation. Will could get anything he wanted with that look. "I know there's no point in denying you once you have an idea in your head. And while you're at it, is there anything more you request from me?"

Just then, a bell reverberated through the walls of the castle, slightly shaking Will's room. The signal for dinner. Perfect timing on Will's part.

"And that's my cue to leave," Will said, "meet me in an hour at the stables. Bring clothes, food, and weapons. Make sure no one sees you, especially my parents. It is imperative that only you and I know of this plan." And with that, Will left his room to prepare himself to meet with his parents for one last time.

* * *

The dining room was one of the largest in the Institute. It was actually the second largest, behind the library. The library was Will's favourite getaway, for he absolutely loved to read. Will felt a sharp pang go through him that he would not have the luxury of reading once he escaped.

Like many of the other rooms, the dining was entirely built from stone. There was a fireplace at the far end of the room, which was ablaze with a warming fire. Most of the room was occupied by a long, mahogany table, which covered most of the length. It could seat at least twenty five people and was used in the case of special occasions.

Seated at the head of the table was Edmund Herondale. Opposite him was Linette. In the middle of one of the sides was Cecily, and Will automatically assumed that he would sit on the other side. He found it silly the way his family arranged himself. It was in a shape of a diamond, but there was so much space between each of them that it was useless for family conversations. But that did not matter most of the time. They often ate their meals at separate time, even if there was a single dinner bell. On top of that, Will rarely saw his parents, especially his father, not that he was complaining.

Will could already smell the aromas coming from dining room from down the corridor. It hit him the second he walked into the room and he suddenly realized that this was going to be his last proper meal before he left. That was one thing he was going to miss about royal living.

The table was filled with foods of all sorts. Roast beef, freshly baked breads, vegetable mixtures, fish stew, and so many more foods that anyone could possibly imagine. Will sat down across from Cecily, who looked at him solemnly. That was something else he was going to miss. His little sister.

Edmund and Linette began digging into their food once they saw Will. The servants approached him and served Will all the different food. As usual, the entire Herondale family ate in silence. Will enjoyed the silence. He really didn't want to talk about anything… anything meaning Jessamine.

"So," Cecily said, clearing her throat, "Jessamine Lovelace, huh? I definitely did not expect that one." _Way to ruin it Cecy_, Will thought to himself, internally rolling his eyes. She smirked at him.

"Yes, an excellent choice that one!" Edmund Herondale beamed, clapping his hands together.

"Well what about Gabriel Lightwood?" Will retorted, ignoring his father. The Lightwoods ruled a neighboring kingdom and were almost as powerful as the Herondales. Cecily and Gabriel Lightwood had something going on between them, and it would not be too long before Gabriel would declare his intentions. Or so that's what Will thought. He had once hated Gabriel, but he was now accustomed to the other boy that he surprisingly developed a liking to him. Not to mention that this would also make Edmund Herondale happy.

Cecily stuck out her tongue at Will, and Will suppressed his laughter. Their parents, however, were totally oblivious to what was going on.

"We must go ahead with wedding preparations at once," Edmund continued, "the sooner the better."

"How about in two months from now?" Linette chimed in. She loved involving herself in occasions like this.

"That sounds great!" Edmund's grin became even bigger, "what do you think Will?" He turned to his son, light blue eyes meeting dark blue eyes.

What did Will think? His insides were all screaming no. But if he did decline this offer, then his escape would be even more dramatic and his parents would suspect something would be wrong. So what would Will say to that?

"That sounds terrific," Will said with no enthusiasm. Edmund was too caught up in the wedding to even sense this tone in Will's voice.

"Great!" Edmund said. Will had never seen his father so excited before. Will put down his fork, as he had finished eating and felt fully satiated. Anxiously, he glanced up at the clock. He had to meet Jem in fifteen minutes, and that was exactly how far the stables were from the dining room. The Institute was an enormous castle after all.

"Father, may I be excused?" he asked, hoping that his father would say yes.

"Of course son, since you have been so complacent about this marriage," Edmund said, smiling. Will was surprised. Normally his father was not this easy-going with his son. Will nodded and stood up to leave. As he exited the dining room, he noticed that Cecily had narrowed her eyes and was watching him apprehensively.

Will made his way easily to the stables, trying to keep his mind off the wedding. He loved riding, especially his great black steed, Balios. It helped calm him and smoothed the rough edges that he so often had.

The stables were located behind the Institute. It was a separate, low-lying stone building that housed at least a hundred horses. Why there were so many horses for a family of four with less than twenty knights, Will could never understand. This did come in handy for Will's plan. The Herondales, and much less the servants, would barely notice if one out of the hundred horses were missing. And since Jem often worked around the stables, this came to Will's benefit.

Will opened the huge wooden stable door to be greeted with the stench of hay and dung. Most of the horses were asleep and did not move when Will walked quietly past them. Jem was at the far end of the stable by Balios. Even in the pale moonlight, his hair shone an even brighter silver. Jem sensed Will's presence and turned to face him.

"You made it just in time," said Jem. "How was dinner?"

"They decided to set the wedding in two months from now," Will said grimly, "even more the reason for me to escape."

Jem nodded sadly, feeling for Will. He held out one of his sets of clothes for Will. "Take this for the road," Jem said, "I packed the other pair into your bundle, along with food and weapons. They're already attached to this saddle on Balios. Oh and I made sure that the weapons don't have any trace of belonging to your family."

Will took the clothes. There was a loose white shirt and black linen pants, along with a thick black belt. Jem took this as his cue to turn around, as Will changed into his new clothes. They fit perfectly, since he and Jem had almost the same build.

"I'll take those," Jem said, turning around and taking Will's royal clothing, "I'll find a place to stash it away."

"Thank you James," Will said, feeling extremely grateful, "I cannot say it enough times how much I appreciate what you are doing for me."

"You know that you would do the same for me if I was in your position," Jem said. Jem could never lie.

"Of course I would," Will said, and he held out a hand for Jem, who clasped it. "You'll always be with me, my brother."

"Oh, how very touching this all is," said another voice, clearly feminine. Will and Jem spun around in alarm. Cecily Herondale was standing behind them, eying them carefully.

"Cecily!" Will exclaimed in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"Might I ask you the same," Cecily said nonchalantly, "I know what you're doing William."

"Look, I can explain –"

"No need to," Cecily cut him off, "I fully support your decision." Will opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it. Cecily sauntered over to him and put her hand on Will's shoulder. Will was tall for his age, and Cecily was nearly a head shorter to them and had to stand on her toes to reach his shoulder. Their eyes met and Will immediately knew she was being truthful.

"This means a lot to me Cecy," Will said.

"I understand what you're going through Will," she said, "Jessamine Lovelace is one nasty person. I don't even know how she earned the title as princess. And no one, especially someone as great as you, should have to marry her. Go Will. Go live the life you wanted. And remember that I will always be in your heart."

Will stared at his little sister, stunned, not knowing what to say. When Will finally found his voice, he said, "what are you going to do about mother and father?" That was one thing that nagged Will about his plan. He had no idea what to do about his parents.

Cecily laughed. "Leave that to me. And Jem, right Jem?" she turned to Jem, who had been watching from the sidelines.

"Sure," Jem shrugged, "we can think of something. We just have to get you out of here William."

"That won't be too hard," Will said, looking up at Balios. He mounted the horse and looked down at his best friend and his sister, the two people he loved most in the world. "If I get through this, let me hope that I will see you both. I love you so much."

"We love you too Will," Jem said, draping an arm around Cecily and pulling her close.

"And we'll miss you a lot," Cecily added.

"I will miss you both too," Will said, "ave atque vale." Will looked up and urged Balios forward. Cecily and Jem stepped to the side, as Will burst through the stable doors, galloping into the night towards freedom.

* * *

Will continued riding on for a couple hours through the night. Judging by the darkness, it had to be close to midnight. He heard thunder in the distance and then the rain came pouring down, soaking his clothes. He just had to escape on the night that it had to rain hard.

Will had no idea where the hell he was going. He had never ventured beyond the castle gates. He thought it would be difficult to leave, but there were no guards to stop him. He guessed that it was easy to escape since he had never actually tried before. So, because of that, he had no knowledge of how the kingdom was laid out and was just going wherever the road led him.

The road began to narrow as he and Balios entered a dark forest. The further they went in, the thicker and closer together the trees were. Will told himself that the next village he would see, he would break there. Except, he had not seen a trace of civilization for miles. And the rain was falling even harder than before, which was not helping at all. Will was persistent though. There was no way that he was going to sleep in the woods. Who knew what lurked in the woods.

From the distance, he heard a howling sound. That confirmed his suspicions of what lived in the forest. Wolves. Balios let out a nervous neigh. Will patted the side of the horse's neck.

"It's alright, good boy," Will said, trying to calm the horse, "just a little longer." Balios had started to slow his pace down. He was a fast horse; one of the fastest in the Institute. However, Will had been riding like a madmen for the past few hours, and Balios was bound to give out sooner than later. Will kept riding, even though he could feel sleep trying to take over him. He was determined to stay up though. No matter fatigued and weak he was beginning to feel.

The howling erupted again. Balios neighed in fright again, and Will looked to his side. Out of the corner of his eyes, Will saw multiple pairs of glowing yellow eyes baring right at him. Will shrank back on his saddle in horror. With a snarl, the wolves jumped out of the thicket of trees and attacked Balios.

Balios whinnied even louder and stood up on his back hooves so fast, that it sent Will flying. Will hit the trees and yelled out in pain. He ran back to Balios only to see his horse running away without his master, the wolves at his tail. Will knew it was pointless to run after Balios. He was already weak and tired, and the rain was falling down so hard that Will was bound to slip and fall. He was also in complete pain from slamming into the tree.

Will turned around and made his way down the hill where the trees were nestled. He tripped on himself and stumbled down, hitting the hard ground with an unceremonious _thump_. Will tried to stand, but collapsed on his knees. His entire body had given out, and he could feel sleep washing over him.

A hooded figure came and stood over Will just then. The last thing Will saw was a pair of big gray eyes looking at him curiously before blackness took over him.

* * *

**Hmmm, I wonder who that figure in the end is ;)**

**THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THE GREAT FEEDBACK! SEVEN REVIEWS! AWWW YEAH! I was totally not expecting that haha. I'm so excited to keep this story going too, thanks to you guys :D So thank you everyone who reviewed, favourited, and/or followed this story! Just keep it going!**

**How about another five reviews for the next chapter? :)**


	3. Tessa Gray

"Why the hell did you bring him back here?" said a deep, masculine voice, clearly angry.

"I found him out in the woods when I was gathering herbs and the like," another voice, higher pitched and youthful. A girl.

"You know we cannot afford to have someone else under our roof," said the man with a sigh of frustration.

"I couldn't just leave him out there to die Nate!" the girl exclaimed. "He took a nasty fall down the steep ravine and practically crumpled on the ground right in front of my eyes. I had to help him."

"You weren't even supposed to be out there in the first place, Tessie. You were well aware that there was a thunderstorm and young little girls should not go out on nights like that."

"I'm not little. And I am not a girl. Besides, I am old enough and I can take care of him myself. I don't need your help."

"Fine, whatever you say little sister. Have it your way then. You always do. But if this boy has one slip up, then I will send him straight out the door and off to the streets with him."

"Oh, all right then. I will be careful," the girl said in resignation. "I wonder who he is. And where he came from."

"Doesn't matter to me," the older boy grunted, sounding irritated.

"I'll find out, sooner or later," the girl said so quietly that the other boy could not hear.

* * *

Darkness. Darkness and blackness was all Will could see. No matter how hard he tried to get away from it, he could not. It was like swimming against a tide towards shore, but it just kept bringing you back closer and closer to the depths of the ocean. That was exactly how Will felt at the moment. He had escaped, but he knew there was no going back.

Suddenly, there was movement in the darkness. Faces began to pop up right in front of his eyes. His father. His mother. Cecily. Jem.

"_You have betrayed my trust, son_," his father's voice was an echo, but it still held its reprimanding edge.

_I am sorry, father_, Will had tried to say, but he made no sound. It was like yelling in empty space with nothing to be heard. Meaningless words. Useless.

"_William, why did you have to leave? You could have had a happy life here,_" his mother. But of course she would not know he was gone. And neither should his father.

"_Brother, please come back. I miss you so much._" Cecily. But Cecily was strong. She had given him her approval to go forth.

"_Promise me you'll have a good life. Please promise me this brother. I will be forever in your heart," _said Jem, his voice steady and calm, pulling Will back to shore.

"I promise," said Will. His hand flew up to his throat in surprise; his voice had come back. Will reached out his hand towards Jem, but Jem and the others were already beginning to fade away.

"No!" Will shouted, "come back! Please!" His voice caught on the last word, as he fought his way forward towards Jem and Cecily.

"We love you, Will," said Jem and Cecily, as well as his parents, all in unison. Will kept on making his way towards them, but it was too late. They had almost disappeared in oblivion, a mere light in the blackness.

Will thrashed around wildly in the dark, but he already knew that they were gone. Once again, Will felt utterly helpless when darkness took ahold of him one last time.

* * *

Will opened his eyes up groggily to see the afternoon sunlight trickling in. He was lying flat against a somewhat stiff bed. He was used to sleeping in his plush bed with his soft downy pillow. Obviously he had to get used to not having a life of luxury now.

He could feel himself breathing heavily. He reached up to his forehead to feel the sweat pasted to his forehead. He looked down to see white sheets, tangled all over his body. He sat up straight when a sudden, sharp pain hit him right in the stomach. He brought his arm over and clenched his stomach, letting out a gasp of pain.

"Be careful there," said a voice and he looked up to see a pair of curious gray eyes looking down him. A girl precisely, who appeared to be around Will's age, maybe a year younger. She was fairly tall with curling, chocolate brown hair tied behind her, a few tendrils boxing her face. He glanced at her clothing to see that she was wearing a shabby, gray dress that fell at her ankles, with tears and patches here and there. A peasant. She had a nice face along with a youthful glow, Will supposed, but he had seen much prettier. After all, he was a prince and met all sorts of girls. "You had quite a nasty fall and you may have hurt your ribs," the girl continued. She had the same voice that he had heard earlier before he passed out.

Will narrowed his eyes at her and said nothing. Looking away, he decided to absorb his surroundings. They were in a room with lightly coloured walls that was much smaller than his back at the Institute. Behind him was a single window where the sun was trying to come in. The furniture was sparse. There was the bed where Will was situated in, a small bed stand to the side, a shelf against a far wall, and a chair next to his bed. A quilt was thrown haphazardly on the chair, indicating that the girl had most likely been sitting in before Will had woken up. How long she was there for, Will could care less about.

A sudden throb started at Will's head, and he immediately gripped the side of his head to feel something soft that was definitely not his head. A bandage.

"I would also be weary of that," the girl advised, "you hit your head. Although, it should be better now." She reached towards him, and Will flinched away. Hurt spread across her face. "I'm sorry. I won't hurt you at all."

"Easy for you to say," Will muttered under his breath, hoping she had not heard him. "Well, what am I doing here?" he demanded. The girl regained her normal, serious expression. Usually girls went off crying or whining if William Herondale talked to them in such manner. Maybe this girl was different.

"I found you out in the forest amidst an awful thunderstorm," she said, keeping a firm voice, "I had gone out there to run errands, but came across you instead. You had slipped down a steep hill at an alarming speed and hit the ground, head first. It seemed quite painful, so I had to bring you back here. You had hurt your ribs and your head badly, so I bandaged you up. Also, you're clothes had been torn and bloody, so I changed you into my brother's clothing. You're about his size." She eyed him and blushed at this and Will looked to see that indeed he was wearing different clothes, not the servant garments Jem had given him. Will realized why the girl was blushing; she had seen his full body, which many of the girls around the land would have killed for. "You've been asleep for nearly three days now," she added quickly, turning away.

_Three days?_ Will thought in alarm. He hadn't even noticed that time had slipped by so quickly. He had never wasted such time being in bed and felt he should be more productive.

"I know what you're thinking," the girl said, reading his thoughts, "You're surprised that you've been out for so long and you wish that you could be out and about. I would say that you should rest for another day or so before you start walking, nonetheless standing."

"Finally," Will said.

"Ah, so you're not a mute," the girl said, amusement sparkling behind her stormy, gray eyes.

"Of course not," Will said defiantly, "what ever gave you that impression?"

The girl shook her head before saying, "what's your name?"

"William," Will said, and the girl raised an eyebrow, urging him to go on, "William… Carstairs. But everyone calls me Will." Jem's last name was the first to pop in mind. If Will used his real surname, he would have been screwed. This aroused no suspicions from the girl, thankfully, who nodded at that.

"Say, isn't that the prince's name?" So she did know who Prince William Herondale was. Will was glad he didn't give that away.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I thought it was not very common, at least where I live."

"I was named after him. Doesn't anyone want their son to be named after a future king?" Will was getting slightly annoyed at the girl.

"Most people I know would never," she said, giving Will a confused look. "Doesn't everyone know? The Herondales are hated across Idris. I've heard stories about them. How they care about no one but themselves. King Edmund saved most of the riches for himself leaving most of the villages in extreme poverty. No one ever hears of Queen Linette, but we know she just goes along with the King. And the children, too. I've heard that Cecily Herondale is sweet and the nicest in the family. But that William, he's the rudest, most unkind and uncivil man, as I've people have said."

Will was shocked. Sure, he knew he was rude, sarcastic, and an ass to pretty much everyone except for Jem and Cecily. But that was only to those who came into the palace. He thought that all those who resided outside the borders were oblivious to him, and especially his attitude. This girl had clearly proved him wrong though. No wonder there was such distaste and hatred in her voice. Even more the reason to dislike her.

"Why the look of surprise?" she asked. She could read Will so easily that it almost scared him. "And what do you do to not know about the Herondales?"

Will laughed. "Oh, I know of them. More than you can imagine."

"What do you mean?" she said, looking very puzzled by this.

"To put it simply, I worked for them."

"You what?!" That certainly surprised her.

"Did you not hear me correctly?" Will smirked, "I used to work for them," he said, enunciating every word.

"Yes, yes I heard you clearly," she said irritatingly, "I just never thought that people ever left the castle."

"Are you impressed?" Will gave her a crooked grin.

She rolled her eyes. "So how did you escape?"

"It was quite simply actually."

"Simple until you nearly died," she commented.

"Did I hear something?" he said, earning a poisonous look from her. It sure was fun to tease her.

"Nothing," she said quietly.

"So where am I?" Will said, deciding to change the village.

"The village of Blackfriars." She seemed relieved to be talking about something else.

"Never heard of it." It was the truth.

"You wouldn't have," she said, "most people don't know of us. We're on the outskirts of Idris that we are often overlooked. I highly doubt that the Herondales even know we exist. Which is a good thing, I may add. At least we don't get the bad end of their reign." Will sighed at this. He never thought his family was that hated. He did detest his father, but had no idea this feeling was mutual with the people of his land. "Out of curiosity, but what did you do? For the Herondales I menat."

"You sure are a curious one," Will chuckled.

"My brother does say that curiosity is my besetting sin," the girl shrugged.

"I like this brother of yours," Will said, "first he lends me his clothes and now he has the same thoughts as me."

"Just answer the question," the girl said impatiently.

"Alright, you asked and I shall tell. I was a servant for them. For that William Herondale you seem to like so much."

"You served Prince Herondale?" her gray eyes widened, "is he really as awful as people say?"

"Surprisingly, no," Will said, although he had no idea what to think of himself. "He is a bit of an ass, but if you look past his rough edges, he has a soft soul and a kind heart."

"I would have to see for myself," Tessa said dubiously.

"Suit yourself," Will said, lounging against the headboard of the bed, "so, fair maiden, you have given me this lovely room and this bed. And you have nursed me almost to health. Are you not going to introduce yourself?" The girl blushed fiercely again. Will's good looks must have really been rubbing off on her.

"My name," she said with an unwavering voice, "is Tessa Gray."

* * *

**Eh, I'm not really happy with this one. But I felt that it was appropriate to end it here though. This chapter is important, for it sets up the rest of the story :D**

**Thank you again for all the reviews, favourites, and follows! You guys are the best! You all get a virtual cookie :)**

**So review! And tell me your honest opinion.**

**Until next time!**


	4. The Sensor

Will woke to the feeling of his entire body being confined to a tight spot. He thought it was a dream again, but when he looked up he saw Tessa spreading a blanket over him and tucking it in.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm fixing your bed," simply said Tessa. "When I woke up this morning, I saw that your sheets were spread everywhere. And besides, you were shivering, so I thought I could help a little bit and just tuck the sheets in."

"Well, you didn't have to do that. I don't like being touched," Will said rudely.

"I'm sorry for that," Tessa said, not looking sorry at all. "Just thought I could help a little bit, but of course you are not a tad bit grateful this morning."

Will sighed in annoyance. "What time is it?"

"It's seven in the morning."

"Who in the name of the Angel wakes up at seven in the morning?" Will asked, alarmed. He never woke up past nine back at his castle.

"Most people here in Blackfriars," said Tessa, eying Will suspiciously. "Didn't you say that you used to work as a servant for the Herondales? You should have been used to getting up early to do whatever you did for His Royal Highness." There was slight sarcasm in her voice.

Will decided to ignore this and he let his eyes wandered to the floor, where a bunch of white sheets were spread narrowly as if someone had been lying down there. "Have you been sleeping there?" he asked, pointing to the sheets.

"Yes," Tessa said, avoiding his eye contact, "since someone else is using my bed."

"Goodness, is this your bed?" Will said in mock interest.

Now it was Tessa's turn to roll her eyes, not believing his fake caring tone. Giving up on his sheets, she went over to the table on the far side of the room to a small wooden table and picked up a basket. "Here have a roll," she said reaching into the basket and pulling out a perfectly rounded bread roll. She handed it to Will, who took it, "I baked them fresh this morning."

Will took a bite of the roll. It sure was delicious; even better than ones he had back at the Institute. The Institute was known for its fine dining, but Will was proved wrong by this simple girl's cooking. However, Will decided a different way to show his opinion. He threw the roll at Tessa, hitting her right in the face and dropping unceremoniously on the ground.

"Ouch!" Tessa flinched back, rubbing her temple.

"It's disgusting," Will said, turning away from her. He did not want to be a complete ass like this, but he had to keep his walls up. This girl was no Jem and Will had yet to learn to trust her.

"Yeah, well get used to it. You're going to be eating these almost everyday," she said, walking towards the door, "I don't know what the Herondales served the servants back at the castle, but people here in Blackfriars make do with simple, bland foods. And we are probably happier than most others." Will felt offended by this, but knew that Tessa was most likely right about this. He was not very happy in the Institute, and neither were most of the other residents. He decided to keep quiet about this.

Tessa began to step out of his room, when Will said, "where do you think you're going?"

"To work," she said, and continued before he could interrupt, "I work at the local inn here. Someone has to be able to pay for the food we have to eat. And now I have three mouths to feed instead of two." She sounded tired, as if talking to him had drained the energy out of her. "You could at least be grateful for all that I've done for you," she added, but before Will could reply, Tessa and shut the door.

* * *

"So I heard that there's a new boy in town and he's staying with you," said Tessa's friend Sophie Collins, giving Tessa a slightly teasing look.

"Oh shut up Sophie," Tessa said, laughing her off, "I found him the woods and he was badly injured, so I decided it was best if I could tend to him."

"Couldn't you just ask Magnus Bane or someone?" Sophie asked. That was true. Magnus Bane worked at the apothecary down the road and had loads of knowledge about all different sorts of medicines, herbs, and tonics. Tessa could swear that he practiced some hidden magic, although she would not dare speak of it. Magic was often frowned upon in the kingdom.

"I could handle it myself," Tessa said defiantly, before reaching up to lower a chair and push it into the table.

Tessa and her friend Sophie worked at the inn ran by the Branwell couple, Charlotte and Henry. It was an old inn and had been run by generations of Branwell for the past few hundred years. There were twenty rooms in the inn, and at any given time they were almost completely filled. The Sensor was one of the most thriving businesses in Blackfriars. Travellers who often passed through Blackfriars stopped by the inn, called The Sensor.

Why it was called that, Tessa had no idea. It was the Royal Oak before Henry Branwell changed it to the current name. Henry was a little bit eccentric, but Tessa still adored him. And she looked up at Charlotte. Charlotte was small for her age, but had a demeanor of a wise old woman and Tessa admired Charlotte for her strength and resilience. In a way, Henry and Charlotte were more of Tessa's parents than her aunt and her brother. Although, her Aunt Harriet was dead, and Tessa's parents had died a long time back.

Tessa had been working at The Sensor for the past year or so. Her brother was utterly useless, often going to pubs around town and getting so drunk that he could barely make it home. Someone had to provide for her and her cousin Nathaniel, or Nate as she called him. So once Aunt Harriet had died, Tessa approached Charlotte if she could work at The Sensor. In other towns, woman often found it hard to acquire a good job, but Blackfriars was different from most places. They were much more progressive and had a better sense of community.

Charlotte had happily handed a job to Tessa. Although it didn't pay the best, it was still enough to scrape by a living for her and her cousin. Tessa had no idea how Nate had any money to pay for alcoholic beverages since he hadn't worked a single day in his life, but she could care less. She had a bigger problem now: William Carstairs.

"What's he like?" Sophie asked Tessa, obviously about Will. They were pulling down chairs and pushing it into the table, as they did every morning before the weary travellers began to trickle into the inn.

"How did you know that there was someone staying at my place?" Tessa said to her friend, trying to avoid the question. Tessa was partly curious, although news did spread like wildfire in Blackfriars. It was a small village after all.

"I heard it from Thomas who heard it from a very drunk Nate the other night at the pub the other night. Nate didn't sound very happy at all," Sophie said, chuckling. Tessa was not surprised; Nate would go around and complain to everyone about how there was a stranger at his house, though he wasn't the one who was even taking care of Will. He just expected Tessa to do all the work, as usual. Tessa had brought this on herself and could not anticipate Nate to help in any way.

"You haven't answered my question, Tessa," Sophie gave Tessa a stern look. They had finished setting up the tables and had opened the door to allow customers to come in. It was nearly eight in the morning.

"Huh?" Tessa said unintelligently, snapping back to reality.

"Tessa, you need to stop daydreaming. I know that look when I see it. I asked what is the new boy is like."

"Well," Tessa started, but stopped to think about the question. What did she think of Will? When she had first saw him, she thought he was the most handsome boy she had ever laid eyes on. He was slightly taller than her, which threw her off. Tessa was very tall for her age and was used to looking down at most boys. However, this boy was tall. And on top of that, he had messy black hair, unusually dark blue eyes, angular features, and full lips. She could hardly even believe that he was a servant for the despicable Herondales, with looks like that. She could even swear that Will was a prince with just one glance at him. And that arrogant and irritating attitude of his would make this even more credible. Though, she had never seen a prince before, nevertheless anyone in the royal family. Nobody knew how anyone in the Herondale family looked like, since they never left their castle, the Institute.

So did she like this mysterious Will Carstairs?

"I hate him," Tessa told Sophie, "he's annoying, arrogant, lazy, and I just can't stand him. At all."

"It sounds like you like him," Sophie threw Tessa a wink.

"No I don't!" Tessa said, shaking her head vigorously. This much was true, even if her friend didn't believe her. Before Sophie could reply, they heard footsteps coming from above and looked up.

"Good morning Tessa!" Tessa looked up to see Charlotte coming down the stairs with a cheery expression, Henry right behind her. "I heard that someone is staying with you."

"Does everyone know?" Tessa said, exasperated.

"I may have told them," Sophie said with a shy look. "If you don't mind," she added quickly.

"Of course not," Tessa brushed it off.

"How is he recovering? Does he need any help?" Henry asked in a concerned tone.

"He's fine. And no thank you, Henry. I'm doing just right by myself." As much as she liked Henry, he was an aspiring inventor, but his creations often failed. Even if Tessa disliked Will, she wouldn't risk his life with Henry's inventions.

"Very well," said Henry with a smile. He was always a happy person, no matter what happened to him.

Tessa continued through the rest of the day, serving food to hungry travellers, wiping down tables, and showing people to their rooms. These were her usual duties alongside Sophie whenever she worked, which was every day of the week, including the weekend. At around noon, one of the peak times at The Sensor, Tessa had been cleaning the table when she heard something that piqued her interest.

"Have you heard the news?" said one of the travellers, who had sat down at a booth for a hearty lunch.

"What news?" said another traveller. Tessa had observed that travellers were quite the social butterflies and sat with each other to spark up any conversation.

"William Herondale is to be married soon! It's the biggest news in the kingdom," the first man sounded quite excited by this. Tessa groaned quietly to herself. If William Herondale was going to be married, that meant that Edmund Herondale's reign was almost complete. And if the stories were true about how awful William was, Tessa could only guess how much worse the kingdom would become with his rule. If William's bride to be was decent, maybe the kingdom could still thrive. Tessa could only hope.

"That is big news indeed! And to whom is he going to be married to?" inquired the second man.

"Jessamine Lovelace. A perfect match!" An imperfect match actually. Or so Tessa believed. Jessamine Lovelace was from the neighbouring kingdom of Lyn and was detested there. Tessa had heard stories about how snobbish and insane she was all at once from travellers from Lyn. This marriage would be even worse for the kingdom. With Jessamine Lovelace and William Herondale running Idris, everything was bound to go straight to hell. If only Tessa could find a way to stop it, but she knew she never could. She was just a simple commoner and had no use for the royal family. They would never listen to people like Tessa.

"Tessa, could you come over here please?" Tessa looked up from the table she was working on to see Charlotte waving her over from behind the counter where travellers checked themselves into the inn. Tessa dropped her pail and cloth and sauntered over to Charlotte.

"What is it Charlotte?" Tessa asked, not unkindly.

"I was wondering if we could enlist that boy who's staying at your place to do some work here at the inn. I could use an extra hand."

"I could try and ask him," Tessa said, more to please Charlotte. She knew it would be difficult to get Will's lazy ass up and moving, but Charlotte was right; it was difficult running this place with only Henry, Charlotte, Tessa, and Sophie. Any extra help would be much obliged. "He was a servant after all."

"A servant? Where?" Charlotte's large brown eyes widened even more.

"Apparently at the Herondale castle," said Tessa, "his name is William Carstairs."

"Is that so? That's… interesting."

"Why do you say that Charlotte?"

"We often don't see people that come from that far and stay here for a while. He must have been given one hell of a time to even try and escape that awful place." Charlotte shuddered as if thinking about it bothered her. "So you'll ask him for me?"

"Of course Charlotte," Tessa said, forcing a smile. Charlotte had done so much for Tessa, so this was the least she could do for the older lady. Tessa was now dreading about heading back home. She needed to prepare herself to face the wrath of William Carstairs.

* * *

**For those of you wondering if this is a Wessa story, it is! Just be patient... the Wessa will come :)**

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites, and follows! You guys are the best :D**

**Could I get four more reviews for the next chapter? :)**


	5. Bitter Work

"Absolutely not!" Will exclaimed.

"Why can't you just help out a little bit?" Tessa retorted. "You just can't stay in here forever."

Tessa was back in the comfort of her own room. Well, it was not really with Will Carstairs always just laying around and practically doing nothing. She had asked Will if he could come and work at the Sensor, as Charlotte had requested of her. Honestly, she had thought that Will would react a lot worse than this. This a very mild response as compared to the one Tessa had expected, although she was going to try her best to force him to work. He was a servant, as he claimed, so wouldn't this be any different? Plus, together with him, they could make a little extra money so she wouldn't have to worry about feeding him all the time.

"Yes I can, and I can prove it to you," Will said with a smirk.

"Don't bother. You've already done enough proof for me for the past week."

"Goodness, has it surely been a week. Time goes by so quickly, Tess." Will winked at her, but that was not what startled her. Tess. No one had ever called her that before. The most she ever got was Tessie, which her aunt and Nate called her. But Tess. There was something almost intimate about it.

Tessa brushed it off quickly though. She did not want anything to do with Will, and this task that she was doing for Charlotte was the most she was going to do.

"More of the reason why you should work," Tessa continued, "and you will be earning some money."

"Money?" Will perked up at this. Tessa knew that would do the trick. Men were always lusting after money and Tessa knew she could use that to her advantage. Her lips quirked up into a smile as she narrowed her eyes at Will.

"Yes, you will be paid. It's a job William. Someone of your stature should have heard of one. You did have one after all."

"How much does it pay?"

"Does it matter to you? How much did the Herondales pay you?"

Will ignored this. "I'll try it out for now. And it will make you stop bothering me. But don't make me regret this decision."

Tessa nodded and left her room. She had not expected Will to give in so easily, and could only hope that this all worked out.

* * *

Will woke, not to the first time, to Tessa vigorously shaking him.

"What do you want?" he asked abruptly.

Tessa looked unfazed by his rudeness. "It's nearly half past seven in the morning. Meaning you have to eat, get cleaned, and come with me to work before eight to set up. Charlotte and Henry would want to meet you too."

"Do I have to do this?" Will whined.

Tessa gave him a sharp look. "Don't complain. You are the one who agreed to this after all. And you cannot go to work dressed in that. I left a clean set of my brother's clothes on the table over there." She indicated to the far side table by the bookshelves lined with books. Will made a mental note to examine the books later when they were not in a hurry to get ready. Tessa was dressed in what Will supposed were her "nice clothes": a periwinkle dress with limited number of patches to it that made her eyes look more blue than gray.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," Tessa said and left the room to give Will some privacy.

Will groaned and slowly got out of bed, nearly slipping on the floor. He realized with a jolt that this was the first time he had left the bed since Tessa had brought him there. Had his laziness really resorted to this? Will thought he would be more active in his newfound freedom. But then again, he had injured himself.

Will walked over to the table and took a look at what Tessa had left him: a pair of black trousers and a loose white shirt. He quickly put it on, not wanting to get Tessa irritated if he took his time; he noticed that she got annoyed quite easily. Will put on Jem's boots, which were surprisingly still intact even after his accident.

As Will opened Tessa's door, the smell of freshly baked bread hit him. Will hadn't even noticed he was hungry until stomach rumbled in agreement. The kitchen and the dining room were just next to Tessa's room, simply a five step walk. Will was used to walking at least ten minutes to get to his dining room in the Institute.

"Oh good, you're here," Tessa said hurriedly, bringing him a roll. "I just baked these."

Will took it obligingly and bit into it. Like the day before, it tasted better than the Institute's food. The tastes of butter and bread instantly melted in his mouth and before he knew it, he had scarfed down the roll.

"You ate that pretty fast," Tessa mused with a smile, "just yesterday you had thrown a roll at me. Might I add that it hurt a bit?"

Will shrugged. "I was hungry."

"Well, that better have filled you up because we may be late to work," Tessa said, hustling over to the door on the far side of the room and pulling a dark blue cloak from a rack. Tessa hastily put it on and turned to Will. "It's almost a quarter until eight and we best not be late." She opened the door and ushered Will through it. Once he was out, she began walking at a pretty fast speed with Will right on her heels.

"Aren't you going to lock the door?" Will asked.

Tessa laughed. "I know most of the people here in Blackfriars. We trust each other and there are practically no crimes here."

"So how far is this place you work at?"

"We will be working at," Tessa corrected him, "not far at all. Just a five minute walk straight down the road. You'll discover that this is quite a small village."

Will sensed that she was not in the mood for much conversation, so he decided that it was better if he absorbed his surrounding. Will had never really seen a real village before, after being confined to the castle for nearly his entire life. Most of the homes were small, almost like huts or cottages. Each seemed to be almost the same size as Will's room and he could not believe that people made do with such tiny space. They got used to it, he supposed. The village was basically a single row of huts with an occasional large structure standing out. Various shops lined the streets, such as bakeries, apothecaries, taverns, and so on.

"Ah, here we are," announced Tessa and they stopped in front of a large, wooden building at the edge of town. A sign hung off the top and was labeled _The Sensor_ with a strange pattern that Will could not decipher. Will wondered who came up with such a bizarre name for an inn. Tessa opened the door and Will followed right behind her.

"Sorry I'm late," Tessa said, and in the dim light, Will couldn't see anyone and thought Tessa was speaking to no one.

"No worries Tessa," said a voice, a woman. Will's eyes adjusted and he saw the woman flitting down the stairs to the side. She was small with brown hair tied back in a bun and big brown eyes. Despite her size, she held an air of authority. Behind her was a man. Will assumed they must be Charlotte and Henry.

"Oh, you must be William," said the woman, smiling warmly at him, "it's nice to meet you. We've heard all about you from Tessa. My name is Charlotte Branwell, and I run this inn with my husband, Henry." She gestured to the man with fiery red hair standing beside her.

"Well, what are you going to make me do?" Will asked rudely. Charlotte looked hurt by this, but remained silent.

"Ignore his attitude," Tessa instructed Charlotte and Henry, "he's often like this, and I believe that making him work here will help improve him a bit." Tessa went away to do whatever she had to do, leaving Will alone with the Branwells.

"Follow me, William," Charlotte said cautiously and led Will towards the back of the inn, away from plain sight from where all the tables and chairs were set up. They entered a back door to a small room with stacks of plates on a table alongside a bucket full of water and a piece of cloth. "I will have you start by washing these dirty dishes from yesterday," Charlotte told Will.

"Yesterday?" Will scoffed, "don't you wash them on the same day?"

"Some of us are busy and have other worries," Charlotte said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I trust that you can handle this. Tessa did mention that you were a servant for the Herondales." How much had Tessa told these people about him? At this rate, by the end of the day they Will expected they would know all of his secrets. Charlotte left Will alone with just the dishes.

Will eyed the dirty plates, contemplating what to do. He had never washed a single thing in his entire life. That's why the servants were there. Reluctantly, he picked one up and brought it over to the bucket containing water. Before he even got there, though, he clumsily dropped the plate on the floor, cracking it into many pieces and spilling the day old food all over the ground.

"Damn it," Will muttered under his breath. The door opened, and Charlotte stood there.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, giving Will a questioning look.

"Yeah everything is fine," Will said, sidestepping around the broken plate to hide the mess.

Once Charlotte left, Will picked up another plate and successfully made it to the bucket. He dumped in in water, but before he knew it, his hand slipped and the plate splashed into the water, drenching Will's shirtfront. Will sighed and plunged his hand in the water, searching for the plate. His hand scraped against a sharp plate. "Ouch!" Will exclaimed, bringing his fingers up to see an open cut on his index finger. Great, he was bleeding. And on top of that, another plate was broken. Will was having the best luck right now.

"Okay, let me try this one more time," Will told himself before picking up one more plate from a precarious stack. As he picked it up, though, the other plates began tumbling down, faster than Will could react. One crash resonated by another, and soon there were at least twenty broken plates on the floor.

"What the hell?" The door had flung open and Charlotte was standing there, Tessa right behind her.

"What happened here, Will?" Tessa asked, her gray eyes wide and curious.

"Don't blame me, blame the plates," Will said.

"Oh Will." Tessa turned to look at the other lady. "Should we give him something simpler to do?"

"Fine," Charlotte said, although her heart was not in it, "you better not mess this one up, Mr. Carstairs. And Tessa, would you be so kind to finish these dishes? I cannot afford to lose anymore."

"Of course Charlotte," Tessa said, stepping forward towards the dishes.

Charlotte brusquely took Will away from the dirty dishes and to the main room, where there were already travellers sitting in and receiving their breakfast.

"What I want you to do is to serve the customers their food accordingly," Charlotte said sternly.

"And how do I do that?" Will inquired.

"Henry is in the back in the kitchen. He already took people's orders, so he'll tell you who gets which meal. It should be easy enough."

Easy enough, or so Charlotte had said. Once again, Will proved to be a disaster at this. He ended up mixing up people's orders and serving the wrong food to each customer. Many of them left the inn, angry at not getting the right food. And on top of that, both Charlotte and Henry were even more furious at Will. Not to mention that Tessa and the other girl that worked at the inn, Sophie, were also upset.

"We'll give you one last task William," Charlotte said, "but one slip up, and you're out of work, you understand?" Will nodded, and Charlotte continued. "We're going to have you greet travellers and ask them if they want to stay, if they want a meal, or if they want both. Can you do that?"

Will nodded and without another word, Charlotte took him to the front of the inn, where there was a booth. Will assumed this is where he would do his job. Charlotte left him to be, and just sat. Ultimately, he found himself dozing on and off until he reached eventual sleep. He began to hear shouts and startled, he woke up to see that there was a line of people waiting for Will to help them out. Charlotte and Henry were already there, tending to people's needs, while Tessa and Sophie were frantically moving around, bringing food and drinks out.

"Do you want to sleep, have a meal, or both?" Will quickly asked the first traveller in front of him.

"Neither," the man snarled, "I've been waiting too damn long and no one approached me. I'm leaving here." And with that, he stormed out of The Sensor. Many others followed the man's lead, all seemingly disappointed. In the end, Will was left with just Charlotte and Henry, who were even more irate than before.

"I you should go, William," said Charlotte, who appeared to not want to vent her anger. Henry nodded in agreement.

"What's going on here?" Tessa asked, wandering over to them.

"We were just saying that William should go," Henry told her.

"Well, are you going to stop them Tess?" Will asked her, hoping that using this name for her would work.

Tessa avoided his eye contact and Will knew that it had not done the trick. "I think it's best if you go Will," she said. Will turned on his heel and stormed out of the inn without another glance back.

* * *

Tessa felt bad for what had happened. But she decided it was the most they could do. Will had already made a huge mess of The Sensor, and Charlotte and Henry could not afford to patch up for what they had lost. It was the most reasonable choice and best for all of them, including Will.

Tessa had continued through the rest of the day in ease. Will had left around lunchtime, and there was still a lot of work to finish. Nevertheless, Tessa had been able to do all of it around eight, and Charlotte had let her go. Exhaustion was written all over the older woman's face, and Tessa felt bad for bringing Will to work. Charlotte had asked for him to come in, though.

As Tessa made her way back home, the moon had begun to rise. Tessa put her hood up to conceal her face. Even though Blackfriars was a safe village, Tessa was always careful at night. Luckily she was wearing a dark cloak that could camouflage easily with the surroundings at this time of day.

One thought had nagged Tessa throughout the entire day. Will claimed to be a servant, yet he was not able to do any of the duties that were handed to him. How odd Tessa had found that. He did say that he worked for William Herondale, so perhaps his chores were different for that. Tessa could only hope that was why.

Tessa reached her home and opened the door, which was still unlocked. Nate, as expected, was nowhere to be found. Tessa took off her cloak and hung it on the rack beside the door. The dining room and the kitchen remained untouched, and Tessa begun to wonder if Will had eaten anything. She would ask him once she found him, assuming that he was in her room.

She got to her room and quietly came in, just in case Will was sleeping. But he was not. And Tessa's jaw dropped in surprise.

There was a candle ablaze on the table by her bookshelf. Where Will had found the necessary materials to light it, she would never know. Will was standing by her bookshelf, holding something in her hand. Tessa would not have minded if he was reading any of her books, but those were certainly not her books in his hand. They were here letters. The letters she wrote to herself never to be read by anyone, much less a stranger like Will. She wrote all her secrets, her heart's desires with the intent that only she would see it. But she was wrong. And judging by the look on Will's face, pure astonishment, he had read them. Tessa did not know how many he read, but it did not matter.

"William," she said, keeping her voice calm and remote, "what are you doing?"

"I…" Will, for once, seemed at a loss for words.

"Are those my letters?"

Will nodded, hesitantly. There was no point in lying to her.

"Who gave you permission to read them?" Tessa asked, keeping the same leveled voice. She looked away from Will and at the candle, trying to keep the tears from spilling out.

Will opened his mouth then shut it. For once, he was at a loss for words.

"Those letters were not to be read by anyone, especially you," she gazed back at Will, giving him a deadly look, "I want you out of the house now, William. Now. And I want you never to return."

Will dropped the letters on the table and strode towards the door. Without even looking at Tessa, he slammed the door behind him. Tessa knew that was the last time she would see William Carstairs.

* * *

**I think this is my longest chapter yet. The middle part is practically just drabbling and showing how clumsy Will is, so I guess it's boring. It was boring for me to write lol. But necessary. He's so OOC in this, but it's for the purpose of this story, so I apologize in advance. And sorry to leave on a cliffhanger, I guess. You'll just have to wait and see what happens next ;)**

**So I think I'm going to try to update this every other day or something like that. At least three times a week is my goal.**

**Until next time then!**


	6. Thieves in the Night

Tessa still could not forget the look on Will's face when she sent him out. There was a mix of expressions: disappointment, sadness, and a tinge of something else. Vulnerability? He was as rude as he was arrogant, but she had never associated Will Carstairs with vulnerable.

Tessa made her way to the window that faced the street. She watched as Will somberly walked down the road towards the end of the village. She could visibly see that his shoulders were hunched over, as opposed to the way he normally walked with perfect posture. It was almost as if he was royalty. Maybe that was how the Herondales trained their servants? Tessa could care less.

Will slowly disappeared from view, merely a shadow within the night. Where he was going, Tessa did not know and turned away from the window, knowing that was the last time she would see him.

Once Will was completely out of sight, Tessa made her way numbly back to her room. She could not help but feel bad for him. He was her guest after all, and she was the host and should have treated him better. She never intended on sending him straight out the door, but it was necessary. The more Tessa thought about this, the less she regretted her decision. Will had invaded her personal privacy without permission, and reading her private letters was beyond acceptable.

Tessa began to put her letters away on the bookshelf where they belonged, not daring to look at them. Reading them over would only make matters worse; she would then know which secrets were revealed to Will. Placing them back in the shelves was like her storing them away to never glance back at them again. They were the past, and so was Will. Tessa would try her best to forget them.

As Tessa lay in bed trying to read a novel, as she often did before she fell asleep. Unfortunately, her mind kept drifting away from the novel. She found it extremely difficult to concentrate it; she barely lasted a few minutes through her book. Instead, she was staring at the ceiling above, watching the soft flames of the candlelight creating dancing patterns on the wood.

She tried her best to fall asleep, but it just wasn't working. There was one nagging thought that bothered her. Tessa felt as if everything that had happened – taking Will to the inn, Will destroying everything, and ultimately sending him out of her home – was her own fault. So why did she feel guilty about this?

* * *

Will continued down the path to wherever he was. The path to hell? Will was so cynical about everything. Although at the rate he was going, he felt that he would eventually reach there.

Jem was right after all. Will could hardly last a week in a mundane village outside the walls of the Institute. Will couldn't help but think about what Jem would have done in a situation. Jem would have been able to follow through all the tasks in The Sensor with no effort and not making a single mistake. Jem would have treated everyone with kindness and sincerity. And Jem would definitely not have read through Tessa's letters. Tessa's private letters.

Will felt both bad and satisfied about reading her letters. He had never meant to harm her. Upon arriving back to her home (which he miraculously found; every home looked the same in the village!), he made his way back to her room. He sauntered over to the bookshelf and began perusing the various titles. Most of them were novels he had read and actually enjoyed. He never expected him and this commoner, Tessa Gray, to share the same interest in reading. And they seemed to like the same novels on top of that.

Will had hoped that he could discuss those novels with Tessa. No one back at the Institute cherished books the way Will did, so he had no one to talk to. He was so excited to talk to Tessa about it, but his excitement had quickly diminished the minute Tessa had walked through her doorway.

How could Will be so foolish and stupid? Reading her private letters like that. While Will was browsing the book titles, he saw a few loose-leafed papers sticking out at the ends of the bookshelf. Curiosity getting the better of him, he pulled them out and began to read them.

He had never felt himself connecting with a person so strongly. All her hopes, fears, dreams, about what she wished and always feeling confined, lusting for freedom. Will thought that no one else, especially a commoner, would have that mindset. But he was wrong. And about how she always felt so alone, but stayed strong and used books as her refuge. As Will read on, he felt as if he was reading his own thoughts. Not to mention that the way that she crafted her words was in the utmost beauty.

Tessa lived and breathed words, just as Will did. When he had finished reading her letters, he felt a queer feeling inside of him, like nothing he had ever felt before.

But that feeling soon vanished when she had come back home. Will could barely comprehend what she was telling him; he was so wrapped up in what he just read. All he could catch was her telling him to get out of her home. Will's hopes of reconciling with her vanished in front of him in a blink of eye. He did not want to disappoint her further, so reluctantly obliged. He knew that he would never see Tessa Gray again.

"Are you lost?" a voice inquired from behind him. Startled, Will turned around to see who it possibly could be. But there was no one there, only the darkness and shadows of the woods.

"Who's there?" Will asked in alarm. He was unarmed and completely weaponless. All of his swords and daggers were with Balios, and who knew where that horse was now.

"It's not smart to be wandering about these woods so late," said another voice.

"Show yourself!" Will shouted, trying to be brave. Of course he would stay strong. He was William Herondale, the prince of Idris after all.

Out of the thickets of the woods, more men began to appear. They brandished torches, swords, crossbows, and various other weapons. Will immediately knew who these people were. Bandits.

Quickly, he counted how many there were. Ten. And only one William Herondale. Ten to one was a very petty ratio, and Will figured the odds of him making it out of a fight were very slim. And he had nothing to fight with, only his bare hands. Will was a strong fighter, but to take down all these men was going to be a challenge.

"Do you know what happens to men who wander around helplessly in these woods?" said one of the men. Will recognized the voice right away. It was the same man who had first spoken to him. The way he stood, with an aura of authority around him, made Will assume he was the natural leader of the pack.

Will opened his mouth, but said no reply. Instead, he gave a dumbfounded look.

"See boys, he doesn't even know," the man coaxed, and his men joined in on his laughter.

"There are thieves out here boy," said another man. "Do you know what happens to those who get caught by them? They never return."

"Look, can't we handle this in a more civil manner," Will said, talking as smoothly as possibly while trying to not sound artificial.

"He's quite the looker, don't you think chief?" said another, "he'll pay for handsome price if we take him away."

"Or we can always kill him," said a different thief, punching his fisted hands together, eyeing Will greedily. "That's always my favourite best part." The thieves began to talk over each other, trying to decide what to do with Will

Will gulped, feeling extremely nervous. He glanced around his surroundings, trying to find an opening to escape through. But there were none and Will felt utterly hopeless.

"No we can't," the chief boomed, cutting off his men. He was a burly man, taller and stockier than Will. Will knew it would deplete all his energy if he even attempted to take this man down. "We must strip him of everything, then proceed to kill him." His men cheered in agreement, shouting and cackling, making almost animalistic sounds. Will was disgusted.

"You can't!" Will protested lamely. "I haven't got anything on me. Just these clothes." He indicated to the loose shirt, trousers, and boots on him. It was true. He was still wearing the clothes that Tessa had lent him. It was all he had left.

_Tessa_, he realized with a jolt. If he had not read her letters, or at least read them and put them away while building his walls up, then he would not be in these woods outnumbered by bandits. It was all her fault. If she hadn't gotten so angry at him and sent him out of her home, he would not be in this situation.

"You hear that boys? He doesn't have anything on him," sneered the chief, breaking Will of his thoughts. "What do you suppose we shall do?"

"Kill him!" his men shouted barbarically. And then, without further warning, they advanced on Will.

Will immediately began throwing a fit of punches. He was very strong for his size. For once, Will had something to thank his father for. Edmund Herondale had been adamant about making sure that Will was educated in some form of self-defense. Will had never thought he would have to use his skills, but he was proven wrong.

The men were aiming all over Will's body: his back, his torso, his legs. But Will retaliated, and kicked blindly. The only way he knew he was aiming right was whenever he heard a sharp yell of pain.

Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through his stomach. Will yelled and clutched his side, falling to his knees. He looked up to see the chief, waving about his sword, dripping with blood. Will's blood. Will was horrified.

Will backed down on his hands and threw his leg out on the chief, stubbing the other man's toe. The chief yelped out loud.

"Is that the best you can do, boy?" the chief jeered, although his voice wavered a bit.

Will stood up, aware of the throbbing pain on his torso. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was to bring these men down. He approached the chief and began kicking and punching him with all his might, venting out his anger that he kept constrained for so long. Soon enough, Will felt hands reaching out on his shoulders and bringing him down, away from the chief.

"Finish him," the chief instructed, giving Will one deadly glare before walking away. The thieves gathered around Will and attacked him, throwing punches and their weapons at him. Pain erupted throughout his body, but the more they hit him, the more immune Will felt to the pain. He knew he was going to die.

Just like how Ella did. Will realized that he was reaching the same fate that his elder sister did nearly five years ago. How ironic that was. And like Ella, he had no control over what happened. He was going to be left to die too.

"That's enough," Will distantly heard one of the men say to the others. "We can leave him be. He'll die soon anyway."

Will lay on the ground, bleeding to his death. He wondered if anyone was going to come and rescue him, like how Tessa did before. But he knew that no one would come for him. He was alone.

* * *

**Awww poor Will :( Does this boy ever get a happy ending?**

**See? I told you guys I'd update fast :D This was a short chapter, but I just really had to get this scene up. It's super important for what's to come later.**

**Review! For Will's sake!**


	7. Safe and Sound

Tessa hurried down the one lane street of Blackfriars. She had no idea where she was headed, but she knew that this was the path that Will took. Finding him was the most she could do to repay for what she had done. As she walked, her surroundings shifted from the small buildings of the village to thick trunks of trees.

Tessa knew it was very dangerous to be out in the woods alone, especially when it was dark outside. She had her travelling cloak on and put her hood in a manner so that it concealed her face. She hoped that would be enough to keep people away from her.

These woods were notorious for thieves and the lot who plagued, constantly torturing weary travellers. Of course, the Herondale family was oblivious to this and did nothing to remedy the situation. She heard of attacks often enough that she had grown accustomed to such stories.

The path narrowed and then branched off. It had rained recently, and Tessa looked down in the ground to see a pair of footsteps wandering down another path. They were fresh, and there were no other footprints around. It had to be Will's.

Tessa swallowed hard before rounding her shoulders and following the steps. The further she walked, the darker it became. Suddenly, voices began to rise. As she approached the sound, she heard shouts and automatically knew what it was. Bandits.

There was a sudden yell of pain and Tessa stopped in her steps. Now she could see clearly. She looked up to see Will down on his knees, painfully clutching his stomach. The thieves were around him, taunting him and throwing punches at him. Dumbfounded, Tessa began to quietly step away from the scene. It was too much to watch and she didn't want to be caught by the thieves. She knew that she wouldn't last a minute against them.

Tessa backed away until she could no longer see them, although she could still hear the yelling and shouting. Once she felt she was safe, she turned around and ran. Ran towards the only person who could help.

* * *

Will felt as if he was floating. The pain had subsided and he was being lifted upwards. Could this be heaven? Had Will finally met his end? He never knew what heaven would be like. He always envisioned himself going straight to hell, but what he saw was whiteness. And that most certainly was not hell.

If this was heaven, then was Ella there? Will felt extremely giddy. Maybe he would finally be reunited with his sister at last. Will could only hope.

The whiteness began to fade into a warm, yellow glow. A lavender smell began to wash over him, and Will began to wonder if he really was in heaven. Before he had time to think over it, Will once again fell into darkness.

* * *

Voices. Will heard voices talking above him. Although he could hear them, he was not fully conscious and could say nothing back. But one thing was true. Will was miraculously alive.

"Thank you for helping me Magnus," said one of the voices, which Will recognized immediately. Tessa.

"No worries, my dear Tessa. It gives me something else to do instead of the same old," said the other voice – a man, presumably Magnus.

"Why did you decide to help?" Tessa asked curiously. If Will could chuckle, he would. Tessa always had some question to ask, even if there it weren't possible to ask any questions.

"I like to fix broken things," Magnus said, keeping his tone neutral. "He sure is a handsome one," he added, his voice coming closer.

"Um, I never really noticed," Tessa stumbled. Will swore she was blushing, and if he were fully conscious, he would be smirking.

"Sure you didn't," Magnus said. Now it was his turn to smirk. There was silence before Magnus asked, "What happened Tessa? Before you came to get me I mean."

"Well," Tessa hesitated, "we had a certain disagreement which resulted in Will leaving my home. I felt very guilty about the matter, and after some time I decided to follow him. It wasn't too hard – his footsteps were easy to track. And I knew where he was even without that.

"As I reached the woods on the outskirts of Blackfriars, I heard people talking. Yelling actually. There were the bandits, at least ten of them. And they were viciously attacking Will. It was absolutely horrible to watch, and I knew I couldn't stop them. The first person I thought about was you, and I ran as fast as I could to reach you."

"It's a good thing you came to me," Magnus said reassuringly, "if you were a minute late, it would have been very difficult to heal him. You caught me at just the right time."

"Will he survive then?" Tessa asked, concern lacing her voice. Will would certainly been smiling by now.

"He will," Magnus said matter-of-factly, "all he needs is proper rest now. It will probably be a couple days before he completely recovers. Right now he's fading in and out of consciousness. In fact, he can probably hear us now, but is not fully aware of himself yet." There was another pause and Magnus said, "Don't worry Tessa. He'll be fine."

"I trust you Magnus," was all Tessa said.

"It looks like my magic here is done. If you need any help, you know where to find me," Magnus's voice was distant, as if he were leaving. "Oh, and before I leave here's a potion to give to Will. Just twice every day will be enough."

Will heard the door close and the bustling of skirts approaching him. Then, he felt a soothing sensation coursing down his throat and assumed that Tessa was giving him the potion, as Magnus had instructed. And within no time, Will was back to sleep.

* * *

Will woke up with a start to a warm light surrounding him. He hoisted himself up to see a pair of gray eyes watching him from the side.

"And I suppose you've been watching me sleep this whole time?" Will drawled.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "I see you're already feeling better. Enough to be rude to me." Before Will could reply, Tessa thrust something at it. "Drink this," she instructed, "it will help ease the pain and make you feel better."

Will reluctantly took the cup she held out for him and looked down. It was a yellow liquid and Will swallowed it down. It tasted of lavender and lemon.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's tisane," Tessa said with finality. Will looked around the room to see that he was back in Tessa's room and in her bed again. His eyes found its way to the bookshelf, where her letters were stashed away. He hastily averted his gaze from there.

"I bet it was fun to nurse me back to health again, Tess," Will said teasingly, "most girls would die for that opportunity. And you got it twice." He winked at her.

"Most girls don't even know who Will Carstairs is in the first place."

"Ah, you would be surprised Tess," Will smirked and continued to cut off Tessa's retort, "so, what did happen to me?"

Tessa took a deep breath. "You were attacked, Will."

"Tell me something I don't know," Will said, and instantly regretted it. Tessa's eyes flashed angrily at him, becoming a stormy gray.

"I suppose that's why you had that man Magnus here? Tell me, is he your lover Tess?"

Tessa blushed furiously at him and quickly shook her head, her dark brown curls falling to the sides of her face. "Magnus Bane. And no, he's a friend. And he is the main reason why you're alive, so you should be grateful for him."

"Not a lover, I see," Will feigned sadness.

"Anyway," Tessa continued, ignoring Will, "I found you out bleeding in the woods surrounded by those thieves. I knew I couldn't defeat them, so I needed to get help and fast. The only thing I could hope for was that those bandits would be gone by the time I got back. And sure enough, they were. Magnus was with me by then. We both took you here. Well, actually Magnus carried you over. He is very knowledgeable about healing and the sorts. He was in here for quite some time, ensuring that you got better."

"Why did you follow me?" From what Tessa had just told Will that was the only part of her story that irked him.

"I –," Tessa looked away from Will and stared down at her hands, nervously. "I felt guilty about what had happened. I didn't mean for things to go this far. And I most certainly should not have sent you out the door. I should have been more sensible about the fact that you were still recovering from your last accident and that it is not safe out in the woods." Tessa gazed at the candle on the bedside table, as if she was trying to top the tears from coming out. She went on, "I was stupid into forcing you to work in The Sensor. If I hadn't made you, then all of this would not have happened."

"Tess, you're not stupid at all," Will said gently. Tessa looked up at him intently, urging him to go on. "And you should not take the blame. I should. If I hadn't been so clumsy and if I hadn't read your letters, then this could all have been avoided. I disappointed you greatly, Tessa, and it is completely my fault. Please do not accuse yourself for what happened. I should have respected your privacy."

Tessa still held his gaze, but said nothing. Then slowly, she reached out her hand towards him. Bewildered, Will glanced down at them before placing his own in hers. Her hands were warm to his touch, as he cupped his hands around hers.

"I should not have gotten so defensive," she said finally, "and besides, you were probably curious. A trait we both share." Will laughed at this, but Tessa still wore a serious expression. "And Will, you are welcome to stay here, for as long as you like. You are now a proper guest at my home. You may choose to do whatever you like, and if you don't want to work, that's fine by me."

"Thank you Tessa," Will said, "for everything. And, for saving me. Twice. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive." And for once, Tessa Gray smiled.

* * *

**And now, ladies and gentlemen, let the Wessa magic begin :)**

**Yes I finished another chapter! It turned out way shorter than I expected, but had everything I wanted to put in this chapter. So yeah. Anyways, it's past 2 in the morning so I best get some sleep. Peace out!**


	8. Apologies and Friendships

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Will was still bedridden, although he could feel himself being healed. Tessa left early in the mornings, before Will got up, and returned late at night. She was often very tired from a long day of work, but was always diligent about retrieving healing tonics from Magnus and giving it to Will. She even entertained Will in light conversation, and Will had to say that he enjoyed talking with her. She was shy but she did have a good sense of humour and there was a certain amount of strength behind those stormy gray eyes.

Will woke one morning to see no tonic at his bedside. He had grown accustomed to seeing a bottle of tonic every morning, which he took to make himself feel better. Alert, he sat up and for a change and he felt no pain.

"Are you alright?" inquired a voice from the door. Tessa was standing there in her work dress, looking at Will with concern. Will felt a feeling of delight, seeing this expression upon her face.

"Aren't you supposed to be at The Sensor?" Will asked in return.

Tessa scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and said, "I had some extra time on hand and decided to check on you." She crossed the room towards him and sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better," Will said, looking down at his body in surprise, "there was no pain when you walked into the room. Magnus's tonics must have really done the trick."

Tessa looked unsurprised. "Of course they would have. Nothing ever goes wrong with Magnus Bane." She said this as if it was a fact. Will regarded Tessa and looked down in her eyes and saw no falsehood in them. Tessa gazed up at Will and seemed to tense up, but then relaxed. They held their gazes for a split second before Tessa quickly looked away. "I best be on my way."

"Let me go with you," Will said, without thinking twice. He knew he was taking an extreme risk by going with Tessa. Charlotte and Henry hated Will, no doubt, and would hate it even more if he step foot in their inn. Will ruined everything that he touched, and the least he could do was apologize to them.

"Why?" Tessa said, her gray eyes widening and becoming stormier.

"Because," Will said and paused, before continuing, "I want to apologize to Charlotte and Henry for what I had done. I had caused great pain to them and I owe them an apology. I am not looking to work for them. I doubt they would even hire them. But this is the least I could do."

Tessa closed her eyes, as if counting to herself. Then, she opened them, gray meeting blue. "Fine. You shall come. But only to talk to them and that's it."

"Thank you," Will said, and Tessa gave him a look as Will was even surprised with himself. Since when did Will Herondale become all forgiving? "Besides, I do need to get some fresh air and walk around a bit. At this rate, the longer I stay here, the more I'll probably transform into your bed." And for that, Tessa gave one of her rare smiles that brightened up her whole face.

Tessa gave Will another spare set of clothes that her brother owned to change into. Tessa waited outside the room and shut the door to give Will some privacy. Ever since Will's last time completely alone in the room when he was not bedridden, Will dared to never go back to her bookshelf. Going there would only bring pain to him. Although, thinking about the letters did bring some happiness to Will. He had not revealed to Tessa how much he knew of her letters, and he had no idea when he ever would. He needed to try and bridge the gap between them, earn her trust and show that he was not the stuck up and spoiled prince that he first appeared to be. But that would take time.

Will changed into Nate's clothes with surprising ease. He thought he would be all shaky and not able to support himself, but Magnus's tonics seem to do more than enough to his body. Will felt fresh and rejuvanted, although he had lost significant weight. He wondered if his family would recognize him, especially in this peasant clothing. Nate Gray must have had a lot of sets of clothes for Tessa to keep borrowing them for Will. Come to think of it, but Will had never met Nathaniel Gray, even though he had been at this house for nearly two weeks. From what he gathered from Tessa, Nate was a dissipated drunk who wasted his time in pubs and taverns and did absolutely no work. No wonder Tessa was always so tired and stressed out. Not only did she have to take care of Will, but also of her cousin.

Will opened the door and saw Tessa still standing there, waiting for him. She looked up at him with expectant gray eyes before Will closed the door behind him.

"Shall we go?" Will asked, and Tessa nodded leading the way.

Will and Tessa left her home, shutting the door but not locking it like before. Will walked by Tessa's side in silence as they made their way to The Sensor. As they walked, Will noticed that people stopped doing what ever work they were occupied with and looked up at Will, staring at him hard. These stares made Will uncomfortable, and he swallowed hard.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Will whispered to Tessa. "Am I really that good looking? People do say I rather look dashing," he added cockily.

Tessa rolled her eyes and, as habit, ignored this. "Everyone knows who you are. You're famous in Blackfriars."

"Am I? I always hoped I would become famous. And now my dream is finally coming true." He grinned at her, but Tessa did nothing in response.

"After what happened to you, at The Sensor and coming here twice injured, people found out. It's a small village, Will. You have to get used to everyone knowing each other's secrets."

Will felt a flash of fear in him. Everyone knowing each other's secrets? That was the worse possible scenario. Will never opened up to people, only Jem, and the thought of these strangers possibly knowing more about Will scared him. And worse, if they found out that Will Carstairs was actually Will Herondale, he would be done for.

"I would rather prefer if people didn't know me Tess," Will said quietly. Tessa turned to him in surprise and opened her mouth to say something, but they had reached The Sensor. Charlotte Branwell was outside, staring towards their direction.

"Tessa, there you are!" Charlotte said, clearly expecting Tessa to have come sooner. Tessa smiled at Charlotte and Charlotte returned it. Her eyes wandered from Tessa to Will, and her mouth opened in shock. "What is he doing here Tessa?" Charlotte asked in alarm. "Make him go away. This boy brings nothing but trouble here."

"Lottie, what's going on out there?" Henry said, coming outside. He looked at Will and his mouth fell open, matching his wife's expression.

Tessa looked between the three of them – Charlotte, Henry, and Will – and could see the tension building up. "Um, I think it's best if we discuss this inside." Will could only agree, as people outside had stopped to stare at them. From what Tessa had told Will, all the villagers were fully aware of Will Carstairs' disaster at The Sensor and what a fool he had made of himself.

Tessa ushered them inside and shut the door. There were a few lingering travellers inside; it was nearly two in the afternoon and most of them had probably finished their meals or were napping in the rooms upstairs. Will saw Sophie in the corner, washing up a table. She shot him a death glare. Any hopes that someone may have forgotten what he had done had quickly vanished.

The four of them awkwardly gathered around a table away from the guests. Will took a deep breath, before saying, "I came here to apologize for what had happened. I should not have messed up in everything that I was supposed to do. Even though it's been a week, I still feel extremely guilty for what had happened. I promise you, I will do no harm. If you want me to repay you, I will do anything."

Charlotte and Henry, and even Tessa, looked at him in surprise. Will was surprised with himself too. Since when did he become so straightforward?

"Thank you, Will," said Charlotte, smiling at him.

"For what?" Will said in confusion. Why would they be thanking him when he caused so much trouble for them?

"For coming here and saying you are sorry. That was very noble of you to come here to do so. Not many men of your age can make themselves do that. I have a feeling that you will grow up to be a very strong and independent man." If only he could be that sort of king. Will felt a slight pressure on his arm and turned back to see Tessa. Her hand was resting on his arm, and she gave him an encouraging smile.

"How about you work here?" Henry suggested. "We could give you a second chance."

Will thought about this. Was it really worth working for them again? He knew that he would just mess everything up, being a klutz when it came to household chores. Give Will a sword though, and he could do anything. Give him a bucket and a mop, and Will was bound to screw up the task at hand.

"Thank you, Henry, but I would have to decline your offer," Will said politely. "I do not want to risk the safety of your business anymore."

Charlotte chuckled. "Very well Will. But feel free to come and go here as you like. Just as long as you don't attempt to wash the dishes." She winked at Will and Will laughed. So maybe he could start earning the villagers' trust.

"Well, I best be on my way," Will said, pulling out of Tessa's grip.

"Must you go?" said Tessa. "You could stay and enjoy a fresh meal."

"No thanks, Tess. Besides, I like your cooking just fine." Tessa grinned.

"Let me show you out," she insisted.

"Very well." Will said goodbye to Charlotte and Henry and left The Sensor behind.

"You know how to get home from here, right?" Tessa asked.

"Yes, I do. But it's not home where I will go. Not now at least. There is someone I wish to visit before."

"And who is that?" Leave it to Tessa to keep asking questions.

"Magnus Bane."

* * *

Will strolled down the one-lane road of Blackfriars, heading towards the building that Tessa had told Will where Magnus lived. It wasn't that far from her home; just a few homes down from hers actually. Will stopped in front of the building. It was a small dark wooden structure with a straw rooftop. A sign with a bubbling potion hung from the top, labeled _Bane's Apothecary_."

Will took a deep breath before swinging the door open. As soon as he stepped inside, it slammed shut behind him, making Will jump in his place. The inside of the shop was dingy and dark. There was a counter than ran the width of the room, and behind that were multiple shelves, filled with jars and books. There were all sorts of ingredients, various creatures, dried herbs, and even a few shrunken heads. Will had gathered from Magnus's conversation with Tessa that he was a sorcerer of some sorts. Sorcery was banned in Idris, and if Magnus was practicing it, it had to be in secret.

Will took a few steps towards the counter. No one had greeted him yet, though he could smell a spicy aura wafting from somewhere in the room. There was a door to the side, slightly ajar, with light spilling out. Will walked towards there and pushed the door.

A man was standing with his back to Will. He was bending over a cauldron, throwing ingredients in and humming to himself. Will cleared his throat and the man turned around. His appearance startled Will. He was dressed in all black with a black hooded robe over his clothes. There was tiny specks over his entire body that seemed to glimmer in the light. He jet black hair was pulled back and spiked up at the ends, a style that Will had never seen before. But that wasn't what surprised Will. The man's eyes appeared to look like a cat's: yellow-green with dark slits through the centre.

"Are – are you Magnus Bane?" Will stammered.

Magnus grinned. "I have been expecting you, William Herondale."

* * *

**Hmmm, I wonder how Magnus knows who Will really is. Guess you'll have to wait until the next chapter :P**

**So I have some good news and some bad news for you all. First off, I must thank each and every one of you for your continued support. It really means a lot to me! And it motivates me to write more :D**

**Now for the good news. I apologize for taking forever to update... I had a terrible case of writer's block but I've now been cured and I know where to go with this story! **

**As for the bad news, I unfortunately won't be able to update for at least another two weeks :( I am going out of the country early tomorrow morning, and I wanted to get this chapter up before I left. I'll be gone for two weeks, but I promise that once I come back, I will update this story. I probably will have Internet access, but it will be limited. I can still check my PM's and my Twitter ( kvcampanella), so follow me if you can!**

**Well, until next time!**

**~The Pale Red Queen**


	9. The Unexpected

Will went completely numb, unable to register what had just happened. He looked at Magnus, dumbfounded. Magnus stared levelly back at Will, the queer cat eyes scanning him with amusement.

"I – I don't know what you're saying," Will choked out, but knew he sounded unconvincing and mentally slapped himself. "I'm William Carstairs," Will added lamely.

Magnus grinned. "Oh, sure you are." Magnus didn't sound persuaded at all.

Will wasn't going to give up though. He narrowed his dark eyes at the sorcerer, not wanting to give up until Magnus believed him that he was _not_ Will Herondale. "Why in the name of the Angel would you believe that I am Will Herondale?" Will said as coldly as he could.

"Hmmm, let's see," Magnus winked, stroking his chin in thought, "for one, William Herondale is engaged to Jessamine Lovelace. And mind you, she is one of the most detestable princesses out there."

Will raised his eyebrow, "I'm not convinced."

"Then, you arrived at this shanty old town just out of the blue," Magnus continued, ignoring Will, "not to mention that you are pretending to be your servant boy. And the whole deal at The Sensor? Of course a prince couldn't know how to do mundane work. It's not natural."

Will crumpled into an armchair beside him and buried his head in his hand. He knew there was no use concealing his identity any longer. The warlock already knew too much, and there Will didn't want to risk it.

"And so he accepts the truth," Magnus's voice floated above Will, but Will bothered not to look up.

"Just go away," Will said, his voice muffled by his hands.

"Go away? Mind you, but this _is_ my store." Magnus did have a point.

Will lowered his hands and glanced up at Magnus. There was no danger in Magnus's expression – only kindness and curiosity. "What else do you know?" Will asked carefully.

Magnus looked around quickly, as if checking to make sure that no one else was in the room. "I think it's better if we discuss this matter in some place more private." Will gave Magnus a puzzled look. Magnus gestured for Will to get up and with a swoosh of his robe, Magnus left the room. Will let out a sigh before reluctantly following him out.

* * *

Will found himself sitting with Magnus upstairs in Magnus's shop. Unlike other homes in Blackfriars, Magnus's had two floors, the second in which he lived in. They were seated around a small wooden table, indulging in fresh scones and tea. Will swore that he didn't see a kitchen in Magnus's house, and when he asked Magnus where he had suddenly gotten the food, Magnus winked and simply said "magic."

Will hungrily devoured the scones, in part because he was avoiding Magnus's intense stare. He could feel Magnus's eyes raking him down and bent his head down further. After a while, Will couldn't take it anymore. "What do you want?" he asked in annoyance, harshness layering his voice.

Magnus seemed unfazed by this. "You don't look anything like him," he said, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Pardon?" Will said, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

"You don't look like Edmund at all. He's all white and gold. You're all black and blue, the complete opposite. Might I add that that's my favourite combination." Magnus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Will just rolled his eyes.

"I'm leaving," Will said abruptly and stood up, knocking his teacup over, spilling tea all over the tea length.

"If you want answers, I can give it to you," Magnus said persuasively, almost as if he was charming Will.

Will stopped at the door, his back towards Magnus. Will knew why he was being so rude, even it was to a man who had earlier saved his own life. Ever since Ella's death, Will had closed himself off from the world, even if that meant being absolutely brutal to everyone. Jem had been his main ground who anchored him to Will. The real Will. Jem knew how to treat Will and Will could only be himself around Jem, and also Cecily on occasion. Jem was like the brother Will had never had. Even if Jem was not physically there for Will, Will could feel a connection between them that ran at a deeper, emotional level. Ever since arriving at Blackfriars, he felt something slowly changing within him. His walls that he built so hard around himself were beginning to fall down.

Will took three deep breaths before turning to face Magnus. He could feel cracks in his cool armour, begging him to just talk to the sorcerer. Will numbly made his way to his seat and stared straight at Magnus.

"You're wondering how I know of your father?" Magnus said. Will nodded. "Believe me kid, it's not that interesting." Will didn't care though. He just wanted to know how this stranger knew who he was. "I'm a sorcerer," Magnus continued, "I know everything. And I mean it when I say I know _everything_. There are not many of us left. In the last hundred years, magic has been wiped out throughout the kingdom and sorcerers have been brutally murdered and driven out of Idris to stop the practice of magic all together."

Will knew of the dark and bloody history behind magic. It had always been frowned upon the kingdom for as long as Will could remember. He never understood why people hated it so much. It was just another skill that certain people possessed, similar to how others had special skill with swords, weapons, and so on. Will saw sorcerers as equals to everyone else. If Will had it his way, he would reverse the ancient laws and allow the practice of magic to happen freely within the kingdom.

"Your father saw magic differently, though. He believed in it," Magnus said.

"I don't believe you," Will said. Edmund Herondale had always displayed his distaste for magic, and Will highly doubted what Magnus was saying.

"That was before you were born. That was even before your father met your mother, Linette. I saved his life once, and Edmund felt that he owed me. I told him he didn't, but Edmund insisted. In return, he spared my life and said I could still practice magic, as long as it was in secret. I found myself to this quaint village, where the people were untainted by the laws ruling this kingdom."

"So how did you know that it was me?" this had been bugging Will since he had set foot in Magnus's shop.

Magnus chuckled. "I gave you quite a scare, didn't I? But don't worry, I don't have any spies or sorts like that if that's what you were wondering. I had a feeling, from the day that Tessa brought me over to heal you from your attack. We sorcerers have a way of sensing people by the aura that they emit around them. Yours burned brighter than any others and I had only seen this exact same one once before. With your father."

Will exhaled a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "You promise you won't tell anyone what you know of me? It's absolutely imperative that no one knows who I truly am. Especially Tessa. She made it very clear that she hates the Herondales and I don't want to hurt her."

Magnus gazed at Will, assessing him. "You have my word," he said seriously, "I have no reason to tell anyone. I owe your father that much."

Will smiled at Magnus. Although he only knew the warlock for a short amount of time, he felt an overwhelming urge to trust him.

Magnus reached across the table and pushed the empty teacups to the side, crossing his feet on the table. "So tell me, young prince, but how do you plan to spend the rest of your time here at Blackfriars?"

Will shrugged. "I dunno. Just hanging around I guess."

Magnus gave a skeptical look. "Really Herondale? After your stint with the Branwells, the whole town hates you. None of them want you stepping into, or even going near their premises. Not to mention that your father is probably on your tail trying to search for you."

"Oh, I doubt that." Will didn't want this to be the least bit true.

"Come again?"

"I've got myself covered. I may be a sheltered prince, but it doesn't mean I'm _that_ naïve. I should be fine for the time being."

"And what if your father finds out?" Magnus did have a point.

"I'll improvise," Will said hurriedly. He had never given this that much thought, and the very idea of his father discovering the truth frightened Will. But he would find a way out of it. If it ever did happen.

"Hmm," Magnus said, "there's still the issue of the townsfolk."

"What are you suggesting, Bane?"

"Bane? Never heard that one. I like it." Magnus grinned and threw him yet another wink.

"Just answer the question," Will groaned, although he was enjoying his company with Magnus.

"You could work for me."

"Work for you?" Will sat up in his chair, almost sliding off. "No, I possibly cannot do that! Especially not after what happened with Charlotte and Henry."

"Will, we all know what sort of work you were doing. But between you and I, that's no work fit for a prince, and you could have easily blown your cover." Will couldn't help but agree on this. "Anyway," Magnus went on, "you can help me around the shop. Nothing major. Just some bookkeeping, putting away ingredients, just simple things. And you get paid." There was a sparkle in Magnus's eyes.

"I-," Will stopped himself, still unable to say anything.

"Think of it this way," Magnus pressed on, "you're living with Theresa Gray, one of the most hardworking girls in this village. Not to mention, she is pretty." He smiled suggestively at Will, who blushed. Will had to admit, but Tessa was pretty. "She's working her ass off to pay for her brother and herself, and now since you've tagged along, she has to cover for you. And the poor girl never gets a break. She's exhausted, even if she won't show it. She won't back down. She's as stubborn as a mule. So, if you work for me, you'll not only be helping me, but also her."

Will thought, long and hard. Once again, Magnus was right. "Okay," Will said, not without smiling, "I'll do it."

* * *

"Wait, you what?!"

Will was back in Tessa's little home. They had just finished dinner and Will decided to break the news to her. He braced himself for her reaction, unsure of what she would say.

"Magnus Bane offered me a job, and I accepted it," Will said.

"Will, that's great!" Tessa said enthusiastically, a grin breaking out across her face.

"It is?" This was definitely not the way he had expected her to react. Knowing Tessa's stubborn nature, he thought she would protest and argue that she was fine by herself.

"Of course it is!" she said. She looked like she was on the verge of jumping up and down, and Will found this endearing. "Magnus never offers jobs to anyone. He's usually closed off, although many people have expressed interest in working for Magnus. He's turned down each and every one of them though. The fact that he literally handed you this job is simply miraculous. You must have made quite the impression on him, Will."

"I just hope I don't screw this one up," Will sighed.

"You won't," Tessa said adamantly, "I have faith in you."

"You do?"

"Yes. And if Magnus thought you couldn't do this, then he wouldn't have offered the job to you." Tessa reached across the table and put her hand atop Will's. Will felt a strange tingling sensation running through his veins. He looked at Tessa, and saw her gazing intensely back at him, her gray eyes becoming stormier. There was kindness, hope, and a sense of admiration in her eyes. Before Will could say anything, Tessa drew her hand hastily away. Just like that, the moment had snapped, vanishing into thin air. "So," Tessa said, averting his gaze, "when do you start?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

"You won't have trouble getting up?" Will could swear see the ghost of a smile on her.

"If it involves throwing water on me, then go for it," Will gave her a crooked grin, and Tessa just laughed.

* * *

Will had been working at Bane's Apothecary for a week now. Everything had been going very smoothly at the shop. He and Magnus were getting along very well. Will seemed to have a knack for this magic, even if he couldn't practice it. Magnus had shown him a few spells and even showed him how to concoct various potions. Although Will couldn't use the spells, he could make the potions. On top of that, the few customers that trickled into the shop had learned to trust Will. He was no longer the clumsy boy who destroyed The Sensor, but now an apprentice under Magnus.

In addition to that, everything was going well at Tessa's home. Tessa no longer displayed that initial hatred towards Will as she once had. She seemed to gain trust in him and the stoic mask was beginning to slip off her, just as Will's walls were breaking down. She laughed easily around him and they could converse about anything and everything. She seemed less stressed now that Will was helping her pay for various things. Will could say that he was definitely enjoying this lifestyle. It was much better than what he had back at the Institute, although he did miss Jem and Cecily.

Will was at the shop, a ledger at hand as he checked the inventory in the back storeroom. He suddenly heard shouts and screams echoing in the distance. Alarmed, Will made his way out towards the front of the store, where Magnus was. Magnus seemed unfazed by what was going on outside.

"Are you hearing that Magnus?" Will asked in panic.

"Mmmm?" Magnus said distantly. "It's probably just children playing around." There was more screaming, although it was closer than before. "Okay, scratch that," Magnus said, widening his eyes, "something is definitely wrong."

Magnus maneuvered around the counter and moved towards the front door, Will right at his heels. Before Magnus could open the door, it swung open, Tessa right at the threshold. She was wearing her work dress, although her hair was flying out of its pins and her gray eyes were wide with fright.

"Magnus! Will!" she said, relief flooding her voice.

"Tessa, what's wrong?" Magnus asked.

"The village. There's a dragon out there attacking the village. He's going to burn it down."

* * *

**YESSSSS! I finally posted the next chapter! So, I've been back from my trip for a few days now and I was on and off about writing this fic. But, I started reading the _Hush, Hush_ series and I was completely hooked! I read the first three books in four days hehe. But I told myself not to start the last book until I put this chapter up. So yeah :D**

**Anyways, I had a great trip. I went to the UK and spent a few days in London. I got to see all the TID sites, like Blackfriars Bridge, Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, so on. But I was bummed because St. Bride's Church, which is the setting for the Institute, was completely blocked off for construction so I couldn't see it :( But I still had a great time! I think it's official: I'm moving to England :D**

**Thank you to everyone for reviewing, favourting, and following! You guys are da best! Until next time! I promise to be faster :)**


	10. Who's To Blame?

Tessa didn't know what to expect when she had stepped outside for a quick break during her afternoon shift at The Sensor. She had decided to make a stop at the local baker and buy some fresh desserts. Ever since Will had begun working at Magnus's shop, Tessa now had some extra money to indulge in.

So what was Tessa expecting? Probably the normal idleness that always resided in the sleepy town of Blackfriars. But no. When Tessa opened the wooden door of the inn, she was hit by blast of heat, instead of the usual chilly air. Gray clouds engulfed Tessa, and she had to squint to see straight. Tessa's heart leaped in surprise, as she saw what she never thought she would ever see in her lifetime.

A great, big, emerald green dragon had situated itself right in the center of town, vigorously blowing bright streaks of fire in front of her. Curiosity getting the better of her, Tessa half ran, half walked towards the dragon, not wanting it to spot her. She had to gently cover her nose and mouth to prevent the fumes from permeating into her. It had squashed some of the buildings behind it and had landed its large arse right atop it. As she approached the dragon, she could see the lines and scales more clearly and the pure expression of anger on the dragon. Why would a dragon want to attack an innocent town, especially Blackfriars? Tessa watched from the side, as people helplessly skittered around the dragon, trying to evade its attacks.

Ultimate havoc. At the rate the dragon was going, he looked like he wasn't going to stop and would keep going until the village was burned down to the ground. Taking a deep breath, Tessa shuffled around the run down buildings, careful to avoid the dragon's line of sight. Tessa ran down the street, going to the one person who could help: Magnus.

Tessa felt like an annoying pest, always pestering Magnus for assistance. She couldn't help it that Magnus was a sorcerer. He had knowledge beyond anyone else in Blackfriars, and perhaps even Idris itself. And besides, this was important.

Tessa reached Magnus's shop, which was thankfully still intact. She raised her hand to knock, but before it reached the wood, the door flew open. Magnus stood at the threshold, wild-eyed, Will Carstairs right behind him. They must have heard the chaos from within the shop, Tessa thought to herself.

"Magnus! Will!" Tessa could barely hear her own voice on top of all the commotion. She was relieved that they were alright.

"Tessa, what's wrong?" Magnus asked, concern lacing his voice.

"The village," Tessa managed to get out. She took a breath, before continuing, "there's a dragon out there attacking the village. He's going to burn it down."

Magnus's eyes widened in fear and Will took a sharp breath. "Dragons?" Magnus spat out, "here? I thought there were none in this neck of the woods." He maneuvered around Tessa to get a better look, Will right behind him.

"By the Angel," Will breathed. He turned to Tessa, placing a hand on her shoulder. Tessa felt a jolt of electricity spread through her body. She looked up at Will's blue orbs in a daze, seeing nothing but concern in them. Concern, for her. Tessa felt a little giddy, despite the circumstances. "Tess, are you alright?" Will's tone matched his eyes.

Tessa felt herself nodded, before snapping back to attention. "Yes, I am. But we have to stop the dragon, before it causes anymore harm." She spun around to Magnus. "Magnus, are there any spells are magic you can use to get rid of the dragon?"

"No can do," Magnus said. Tessa felt a twinge of disappointment.

"What do you mean?" Tessa said, sounding a bit frustrated. Tessa instantly cursed herself. It wasn't Magnus's fault if something was beyond his control.

"Dragons are ancient creatures, Tessa. Magic is no match for them." Magnus sounded solemn, almost hopeless. Tessa had faith in Magnus; he never backed down from a fight. At that moment, there was a loud _boom_, and the bakery exploded, the dragon crashing through the rubble. Tessa let out a scream. She could only hope that her brother was safe and sound amidst all this. She had no way in hell in knowing where he was.

"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Will asked desperately.

"Hmmm," Magnus thought, and then his eyes came alight, "I know."

"What?" Will said impatiently.

"Come with me, pretty boy," Magnus said, seizing Will by his sleeves and dragging him behind him, leaving Tessa behind in the dust.

"Hmph, well this is just great," Tessa said, crossing her eyes as she watched Magnus force Will back into the shop. Suddenly, there was a big _thud_ and Tessa felt a hot presence behind her. Slowly, she turned around. She already knew what to anticipate, so it was no surprise when she found herself face to face with the dragon. The dragon was looking at her squarely in her eyes, it's amber eyes narrowing at her. Tessa held back a scream and maintained her calm, while taking a step back. She had to be brave and would survive this. But before she could do anything, she stumbled backwards, landing unceremoniously on her butt. The scream she was trying to contain escaped her mouth.

The dragon snapped and stood tall, unfurling its wings and flapping them violently. Tessa used her hands to back away as fast as she could, getting up to break into a run. The dragon heaved its chest up, as if it was preparing to breathe more fire. Before it could, a figure burst through the doors, a sword in hand. Will.

"Get away from her," Will said, with a dangerous menace to his voice. He held his stance as if he was ready to pounce at the dragon at any given moment. Tessa's heartbeat sped up, part in fear of the dragon, but also in Will. There was nothing friendly in him, in his voice and in his posture.

"If you hurt her in any way," Will continued, keeping the same tone in his voice, "I swear I will kill you. And I will never regret it." Will, surprisingly, did not have to say anymore. The dragon took one swift look at Will and let out a long whimper. Only then did Tessa realize that the dragon feared Will. But why? Before Tessa could think anymore about this, she felt the wind whip around her. She glanced up to see the dragon flapping its wing and flying up and away. And then, it was gone.

"Tessa?" Tessa looked up and saw Will making his way towards her. "Tess, are you alright?"

"I – I'm fine," she stumbled, still in shock. "How? How did you do it Will? And where did you get that?" She pointed her finger to the sword that he firmly gripped.

Will shrugged. "I have no idea," Will said, sounding truthful. He continued, "and this is a sword that Magnus gave me."

"Oh, I see," Tessa said lamely.

Will held out a hand, and Tessa took it. He hoisted her to her feet and wrapped a comforting arm around her waist. "Come, let's go take you home, away from all this." Tessa obliged, but still felt numb. Who was this Will Carstairs? And what more skeletons in the closet was he hiding?

* * *

"This is absolutely unbelievable!" exclaimed Alexei de Quincey, the town leader. He slammed his hand on the table for further emphasis. "Never in the history of Blackfriars have we had an attack this fatal. Let me take that back. Never have we ever had a dragon attack these parts of the kingdom. This is an outrage!"

Will was in the town hall, one of the few remaining buildings that was miraculously still standing after the afternoon's catastrophe. Unlike the wooden structures throughout the village, this one was made almost entirely of stone. It was almost like a miniature castle, though it had only a single room, where they were all seated in. The room would have been freezing if there was not a fire burning in the hearth at the corner.

Night had fallen on Blackfriars, and de Quincey had called for an urgent meeting. He had gathered some of the more prominent members of the town. Will recognized Henry and Charlotte, as well as Magnus, who were all seated beside de Quincey. Tessa was beside Will. Although Tessa and Will were considered minors, they had been requested specially by de Quincey, since they had firsthand witnessed the devastation left behind by the dragon.

"Yes, it is a tragedy indeed," a woman said, not sounding like she meant it at all. Will turned to get a full look at her and felt his jaw drop. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with silvery blonde hair, lush red lips, and glowing emerald eyes. There was something dead about her beauty. Like it was there, but did not fully emanate from her.

"Stop being cynical, Camille," Charlotte snapped. The lady – Camille – only smiled at Charlotte, a smile like daggers. Why were these people so hostile to each other? Politics, Will thought; those that he could never understand.

"Yes, we must discuss this important matter," Henry perked up, jabbing his finger up in the air to emphasize his point. "Why would the dragon want to attack us?"

"It's simple," de Quincey started, "the boy." He turned to Will. There was something about de Quincey that was unsettling. He had a tall, lithe figure, with pale blond hair that boxed his face and black eyes full of menace. And those were glaring down right at Will. Will swallowed and felt himself shrink back in his seat.

"Why me?" Will demanded, trying to not sound afraid. "Is it because I'm so undeniably handsome that the dragon just had to request an audience with me?"

De Quincey rolled his humourless eyes. "Very funny, but no."

"Please Alexei," Camille drawled, "enlighten us with your reasoning."

"Yes Alexei," Magnus said coldly, "please tell me why you think this was Will's fault. I can vouch for him. He was under my supervision the entire time and there is no way he could have conjured the dragon."

"Is there?" de Quincey said with a hint of amusement. "The boy has caused nothing but misfortune ever since his abrupt appearance here. First he nearly destroyed poor Charlotte and Henry's inn. Then, he had to lure those bandits into the woods. And now the village came this close into vanishing into nothing. I say it's all his fault."

This was incredulous. Will had nothing to do with any of those. Okay, maybe he nearly did ruin The Sensor, but all of the other things had nothing to do with Will. Will felt a burning hatred for de Quincey. He then felt a gush of warmth around his hands and looked down. Tessa had grasped his hands under the table and gave it a light squeeze. Will immediately felt reassured. At least someone didn't believe de Quincey's lies.

"So what are you proposing, Alexei?" Camille asked excitedly. This seemed to wake her up.

"I propose that we should send the boy to go slay the dragon," de Quincey said simply, with a sense of closure to his voice.

"What?!" Will exclaimed, standing up and knocking his chair down to his ground. Will didn't dare to pick it up. A gasp ran through the crowd and Will only then realized that he had spoken out of place. "You possibly can't send me after that horrible beast." The thought alone scared Will, and he could never imagine killing a dragon. It just wasn't him. He had only grasped that sword earlier with the intent of scaring the dragon. And that certainly proved to be true.

"This is madness Alexei," Charlotte said, seeming to agree with Will. "He's just a boy. You cannot just send him out there alone."

"He's nearly an adult, not a boy," de Quincey corrected, baring his teeth, "and it shouldn't be too hard. I saw him wield the sword earlier today. Quite impressive. You certainly have the skills to take down that dragon."

"I'm not going to kill anything," Will said firmly.

"Oh you will. And we will make you." De Quincey looked at Will straight in the eye. His black eyes seemed to get even darker, if that was even possible. "Think about it, young man. The whole town already hates you. Would you want to make them dislike you even more by declining such a mission? Think of all the glory and fame you will have once you arrive back. You'll gain back everyone's trust." De Quincey spoke convincingly, but Will didn't buy it. It wasn't like everyone hated him, and there were other ways that Will could do to make them like him.

"Can't you have the knights from Herondale slay the dragon?" Will inquired. Will remembered that whenever there were disasters large enough that they caught his father's attention (which was extremely rare, considering how oblivious Edmund Herondale was), the king would always send knights off to the rescue.

"Knights?" de Quincey scoffed. "The king answers to no one. He'll never help us. We must handle this on our own." This much Will had to agree with. His father answered to nobody, only to himself.

"I think we should take a vote," Camille suggested lazily, "majority rules."

"I agree," de Quincey nodded his head, "all those in favour of sending Will to the quest, raise your hand." There were twenty people in room, apart from Will and Tessa, who both couldn't vote. Of the twenty, seventeen raised their hand, including Camille and de Quincey. "All those against," de Quincey continued, though there was a thrill to his voice. Only Charlotte and Henry raised their hands. "And all those abstaining," de Quincey said finally. To Will's surprise, Magnus raised his hand. Will looked at Magnus, and Magnus met his gaze, giving him _I'll tell you later_ sort of look.

"So it's settled," de Quincey said with a smile, "Will Carstairs shall depart the morning after tomorrow at sunrise on a quest to slay the dragon."

* * *

**Yes another chapter done! Ooooh and Will is about to go on a quest! But will he go alone? ;) hehe. Things are about to get really interesting :)**

**Okay, it's like 1 in the morning and now I can finally go and read Midnight Heir. WOOO. JAMES HERONDALE! I AM SERIOUSLY FREAKING OUT OVER HERE. Okay, now I have to relax. HERONDALES. EEK!**

**Now I must run away to a corner and indulge myself in the awesomeness of the Herondales :D Toodles!**


	11. You're Not Alone

"Oooh, you should wear this for your journey," Magnus said, flourishing a cape with specks that seemed to sparkle rainbow in the light.

Will stuck out his tongue in disgust. "It'll make me stand out too much, Magnus."

Magnus stood back, examining Will fully from head to toe. "You're right," Magnus decided, "this cloak will take away all of your attractive qualities." Will rolled his eyes, but couldn't help stifling a grin.

Will was in Magnus's shop. It was the day after the dragon attack, and the town still had a lot to recover from it. Luckily, Magnus's shop remained intact.

Magnus was busy helping Will prepare for his perilous journey. It was just Will's luck that the dragon so happened to leave a scale behind in the wake of the destruction and the fact that Magnus was a warlock. Magnus had used his spells to conjure a tracking spell to locate the dragon's hideout. Unfortunately, it was a week's trek away and time was running out. Sooner or later, Will's absence would be discovered in the Institute. Will could only hope that Cecily and Jem were doing their best to keep Will in the dark.

"Are you okay?" Magnus asked and Will snapped away from his thoughts and looked up to see Magnus's catlike eyes intensively watching him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Will said abruptly, "so, how do you propose we get to the dragon?" Will added this hurriedly, more of wanting to change the subject and in general interest. Will hadn't done much since coming to the shop. Tessa was to take care of his food, while Magnus was going to plan out the fastest and safest route, which practically left Will to do nothing. Will hated being so helpless.

"We?" Magnus raised a dark eyebrow, "I'm sorry, but this is all on you handsome." Will sighed, but he knew Magnus was right, on both accounts. Will had to face this task alone, and there was no way that anyone in the town would agree to help Will. Will was grateful that at least Magnus and Tessa had some faith in him.

"You're right," Will said, "but I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning and I still have no idea how the hell I'm going to get there, let alone slay the dragon."

"Come with me," Magnus said, and led Will to the second floor of his shop. When they reached, Will's jaw dropped. The room was no longer prim and proper and set for tea. Papers were thrown haphazardly everywhere and there was a smell of magic in the air. Contrary to Will's belief, Magnus had definitely been doing some planning.

"What is it Herondale?" Magnus smirked, "see anything you like?"

"You did this, all for me?" Will knew he sounded dumbfounded, but couldn't care less.

"And what, let the future king go out on a suicide mission? I couldn't risk that, especially after I owe your father."

"You don't owe him anything," Will spat out bitterly.

Magnus ignored this and sauntered over to a pile of maps, ruffling them around, trying to find something. Will narrowed his eyes and made his way towards Magnus, being careful not to mess anything up.

"Ah, here it is," Magnus said, and pulled out a shiny, green half-moon shape, about the size of Will's palm. The dragon's scale. "This will guide you towards the dragon," Magnus said, "I already have the map ready for you, but in case you get lost, the scale will tell you. I put it under an enchantment for your sake."

"How will I know if I'm going the right way?"

"Oh you'll know," Magnus said firmly, amusement sparkling in his eyes. He then turned back to the papers and pulled one out. "This is the route you must take," Magnus said, pointing his long, brown finger towards a line dotted in red. "It's your best bet for a safe passage," he added, rolling the map up and handing it over to Will. "Oh I spoke to de Quincey, and I convinced him that you need a horse for the journey. It took a while, but he obliged. He said a horse will be waiting for you first thing at the crack of dawn. You still have that sword that I gave you, right?"

Will nodded numbly. The other day, when Tessa had arrived to inform them of the dragon, Magnus had dragged Will into the shop and took him straight to this very room. Magnus had handed Will a sword, and quickly explained that this was once Edmund Herondale's sword. Magnus made it a point to prove to Will that it was, since the Herondale herons were engraved on the hilt of the sword. Will's father had given it to Magnus, as a token of rememberance. Magnus had never touched it until the day before, and he insisted that Will should keep it. Will could only do his best and hide it from Tessa.

"Good, that's all you need. That sword may be more powerful than you imagine." Will wondered what Magnus meant by this, but he went on, "are you ready?"

"Ready as I ever would be," Will shrugged. "This journey doesn't seem that difficult, especially with all your help."

"That's not what I meant, William," Magnus's eyes darkened, "I mean, are you prepared to face the dragon?"

Was Will ready? Will had never really killed anything before, let alone a vicious, monstrous dragon. Will wasn't sure how he felt. "No," Will said, "I'm not ready at all Magnus. Killing things just isn't what I do. Injury or maim it, sure. But I have no idea how I'm going to slay it. I can't live with the guilt that I killed a creature, even if it did put others in risk. I just wish things were a lot simpler." Will sighed.

Cautiously, Magnus put his hand on Will's shoulder, giving him a gentle pat. "I believe in you, Will. Whatever happens will happen, but I know that you will make it out of this alive. If you ever need help, take this, and rub it three times." Magnus reached into his breast pocket, and pulled out what looked like a coin, slipping it into Will's hand. In the dim light, Will noticed that it shone in rainbow colours. Magnus smiled at Will, before saying, "I wish you the best of luck, Will Herondale."

* * *

Will dozed in and out of a fitful sleep. He dreamed of many things. His parents discovering him gone. Jem and Cecily dying alongside Ella, helpless, while Will watched from the side, doing nothing. Will being killed in the middle of the forest by the bandits. Will kept waking up between these nightmares, sweating and panting hard, finding it difficult to fall back asleep.

Will eventually dreamed of Tessa and Magnus trying to face the dragon head on, but being killed in its stead. This time, when Will woke up he noticed that he wasn't alone.

Tessa sat at the foot of Will's bed. Lately, her brother had been out trying to find other jobs, but often unsuccessful. Tessa had been using his room for the time being.

"Tess?" Will choked out, his voice sounding hoarse, sitting up straight.

Tessa reached to the bedside table and handed Will a mug. "Drink this," she instructed, her voice holding the usual calm, "it'll make you feel better." Will sipped it and felt a burst of energy flow through him. The energy quickly subsided down, and left Will feeling more relaxed and a bit drowsy.

"What is this?" he asked curiously.

"Just a tea I concocted," Tessa explained, "Magnus taught me how to brew it actually. It should make you feel better and allow you to get a good night's rest. You're going to need it for tomorrow."

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, Tess," Will said guiltily.

"Don't apologise Will," Tessa said defensively, "I heard you whispering frantically, and when I came to check on you, you were tossing and turning impatiently. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah everything is fine. I'm about to head off tomorrow on a suicide mission that I know is bound to go askew and I have to slay a dragon that I don't even want to kill. So yes, everything is going perfectly fine."

"You don't want to go on this, do you?" Tessa said, raising her eyebrows delicately.

Will yawned, feeling the effect of the tea take over him. "Oh yes, I can't wait for this exciting journey to start. Maybe the ladies will like me even better when I return." Will sank back onto the pillows, his eyelids beginning to close.

Tessa laughed, a pleasant, melodious sound to Will's ears. "I believe in you, Will. I know that you can face this dragon. And remember, you're not alone." Tessa bent down and placed a soft kiss on Will's cheek before a peaceful, dreamless sleep took over Will.

* * *

Will woke up before the sun had even risen. He quickly dressed in what he considered comfortable clothes: white shirtsleeves that were slightly loose, thick black pants, and black boots. He had a weapons belt across his waist, with the Herondale sword strapped to it. Will was careful to hide the Herondale symbol on it, just in case any outsiders recognised it.

Will picked up his knapsack that he had packed yesterday. It was filled with extra pairs of clothes, hunting weapons, some spare food to last him the week, and the map. He slipped on a jacked and placed the scale and the coin that Magnus gave him into a hidden pocket.

Will quietly made his way out of the house, being careful to not wake Tessa up. For a change, he was up before her. Tessa got up quite early, and leaving on this mission at this time was too early for Will. Will regretted not saying goodbye to Tessa, but he hated farewell. He promised himself he would make it back just to see her.

As de Quincey had told Magnus, Will made his way to the stables in the outskirts of town. These were tiny stables, compared to the grand ones back in the Institute. When Will opened the door, he was shocked to see Magnus there.

"Magnus!" Will exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

"And you thought you would leave without saying goodbye," Magnus winked. Will huffed. "And besides, de Quincey did promise you a horse." Magnus waved his hand towards the horses. There were five in all, and they all looked strong and fit.

Magnus walked over to one of the horses, a black stallion. It looked so similar to Balios, although when Will approached it, he knew it wasn't Balios.

"This is Xanthos," Magnus said, walking the horse over to Will, "one of the best horses in this part of the kingdom. Consider yourself lucky for getting to ride on him. He'll prove well for the journey."

Magnus passed the reigns over to Will, and Will mounted the horse. Being on Xanthos reassured Will, and he felt as if he was riding Balios again.

"Is there anything else you request?" Magnus asked.

Will shook his head. "No. You've been the most helpful to me, Magnus. Thank you."

"Well then, good luck Will." Will grinned at Magnus, and then urged Xanthos to gallop away.

Will rode Xanthos in the opposite direction from where he went that night he was attacked by the bandits. Will was at least grateful for this. They continued to ride through the morning until midday. There were no towns in sight, and according to the map, the nearest village was miles away and it wouldn't be until nightfall until Will would reach there.

Will decided to take a rest and break for lunch. He found a thicket of trees where the sun wasn't blaring down on them. He took Xanthos's reigns and tethered it to a tree, before sinking in and pulling a piece of bread from his bag. Will had to be careful to not finish up all his food. He needed enough to last him for the ride there and back, if he did return.

As Will munched on the bread, he became acutely aware that he wasn't alone. Will reached to his belt and drew out his sword. "Who goes there?" he called out. No answer. Will stuffed the bread into his bag and stood up cautiously. He took a few steps forward and heard the crunch of leaves, not from him. "Show yourself," Will demanded. He tiptoed around a neighbouring tree and thrust his hand out, feeling someone's shoulder. He spun the person around, revealing a cloaked and hooded figure.

"Ouch! You're hurting me!" a female voice. The hood fell back to reveal none other than Tessa Gray.

* * *

**Yeah, so not the best chapter in the world. I was really stuck on how to write it, but it finally came to me. I'm not so happy with it but whatevs because Tessa may be joining Will now ;)**

**So I'm so sad because Will lost the YA crush tourney thing :( HE WAS SO CLOSE! Oh well, at least Cassie said that she'll still write the cave scene through Will's POV another time. I hope that's true!**

**Anyways, review! Because then you can find out why Tessa is even there!**


	12. Lost?

"Tessa?" spluttered Will in disbelief, sounding utterly surprised.

"Hello Will," Tessa grinned, trying to keep her calm.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Will looked upset. No furious, but Tessa figured there was no use in lying to him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Tessa said, narrowing her eyes.

"No, just no. I know what you're going to say, and I absolutely won't allow it to happen." Will turned around and started walking back to where he was before in a furious stride. Tessa ran after him, thankful that underneath the traveler's cloak she was wearing trousers on top of thick boots and a loose fitting shirt.

"Will, please," Tessa begged, grabbing for his sleeve and turning him around, "just hear me out."

Will yanked his arm free from Tessa's grip. "Do you have any idea how foolish you are?" he nearly shouted at her. These words hit Tessa closer to home than it should have. She had thought her relation to Will had become more solid ever since she and Magnus had found him in the woods two weeks ago. She even thought that they were friends now, and she hoped that Will wouldn't mind if she tagged along on his quest. Tessa obviously underestimated this, though.

"I'm not being foolish," Tessa retorted, standing up straight and exuding confidence. She didn't want to appear as a petty, helpless girl to Will. She wanted to be brave, like those heroes in the books that both she and Will read.

"Stop thinking you are one of those book characters, because right now you're not," Will snapped. Tessa bit back her tongue to hold in the tears. So Will had thoroughly read her personal letters. She tried to block that memory from her mind, but was unsuccessful. She didn't want anyone knowing her deepest, darkest secrets, and the fact that Will was practically spewing them out right now didn't help the situation.

Tessa was not going to give up on this fight, though. "I can help," she snapped right back at him, "just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't do anything. I'm equally able to do what you can do. I have my skills that can contribute to a fair share of what you need. And no matter what you say, I'm not going back."

Will sighed, and leaned his back against a tree. He looked entirely exhausted, as if this small argument had drained all the energy out of him. "Don't you have work to attend to in Blackfriars?"

"Charlotte and Henry won't mind if I take a few days off. I've been working my ass off anyways. Besides, Magnus said he has it all under control." This much was at least true.

"Magnus?" Will stood up straight. This seemed to capture his attention.

"Yes. Magnus Bane. The one you work for." Tessa rolled her eyes.

"I know that," Will said, irritatedly, slouching back against the tree. "What does Magnus have to do with all of this?" Tessa opened her mouth, but Will continued, "let me venture a guess. He thought I was too weak and needed you to come along. Or better yet, he thought that I would get lonely and not handle this mission so he sent you. Or, he –"

"Will!" Tessa interrupted, and he looked at her in surprise, "he didn't send me. I volunteered to go myself. I just had Magnus help me find you, and that was all. He's said he'll take care of the rest back in Blackfriars."

"The rest?" Will asked.

"De Quincey is bound to know that I'm missing, and that I stole a horse. This quest was meant to be only for you, but I couldn't let you go, especially without saying goodbye. Besides, I wanted to go with you, I just never had the time to express this to you."

A look of guilt crossed Will's face. "I'm sorry about not saying goodbye. I'm just terrible with those matters."

Tessa shrugged. "I figured that much. You're also terrible with taking on companions on your quest. And with directions."

"Directions?" Will looked alarmed.

"You're going the wrong way, William," Tessa laughed.

Will slapped himself in the face. "Dammit. I was so caught up on the mission that I forgot to look at the map and the scale." Will reached into his coat pocket, but his expression soon turned from disbelief to confusion.

"What is it?" Tessa asked, taking a step closer to Will.

"Shit," Will muttered under his breath. "The dragon scale that Magnus gave me. He devised a tracking spell and put it on the scale to lead me to the dragon. It's gone. And the map won't help at all. I have no idea where the hell I'm supposed to go now. And… what are you smirking at?"

Will fully glanced down at Tessa, who was trying to hide a smug smile from her face. In response to his question, Tessa slipped her hand into a hidden pocket within her cloak and unveiled a shiny, rounded object. A dragon's scale. Will's jaw dropped in surprise.

"What? You? How? Why?" Will choked out.

Tessa grinned. "And you thought I wouldn't be useful. The dragon left more than one scale behind in the rubble. Magnus put another tracking spell on this, just in case. And it certainly did prove its worth."

Will smiled, in part in relief. He then began to blush, and Tessa figured it was from embarrassment. "Well, if you're still up to joining me on this quest, then I guess you can come."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"

Will laughed. "Welcome to my quest, Theresa Gray."

* * *

**Ugh, another chapter I'm not so happy with. And it's short D: But, I didn't want to drag it out and make it unnecessarily long. So hopefully the next chapter will make up for this!**

**So for those of you who guessed that Tessa would be tagging along on the quest, you all receive a virtual cookie! Actually, everyone who has reviewed for the last chapter gets a cookie :D Cookies for everyone yay! But now that Tessa is here, what will happen next? *Hint hint, it's the calm before the storm ;)**

**On another note, Comic Con was this weekend! I so wish I was there D: Who saw the Mortal Instrument interviews? Speaking of which, only one more month until the movie comes out!**

**Anyways, review! I'll be updating faster now :D **


	13. Trouble

Tessa felt somewhat relieved that Will had finally obliged into allowing her to accompany him on his quest. They had gathered their belongings and mounted their horses: Will on Xanthos, and Tessa on Wayfarer, a gray and white stallion she had stolen back at Blackfriars. Will had been unusually quiet while they had walked back to where he had left his possessions, and Tessa had just hoped it was tiredness from traveling all day. Before they could get started, Will held out his hand.

"What?" Tessa asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"Can I have it?" Will said flatly.

"Have what?" Tessa said, even more confused.

Will let out an exaggerated sigh. "The scale, Tess." Of course. Tessa should have realized that. She reached into her cloak pocket and pulled out the glittering scale, handing it to Will. He studied with a serious expression across his face. "I suppose Magnus told you how to use it," he drawled.

Tessa shook her head. "All he told me was that we should know the way. Typical Magnus. He's ever so clear." Tessa rolled her eyes, and Will laughed.

"I say we throw it against the tree and see if that works," Will said, raising his hand as if preparing to actually throw the scale.

"Will, no!" Tessa shouted, nearly slipping off Wayfarer in fright.

"Just wanted to see your reaction Tess," Will smirked, winking at Tessa. Tessa turned away partly in annoyance, but also to hide her blush.

Tessa adjusted herself on the saddle and regained her composure, then turned back to Will, who was still smirking. "Really Will, what do we do?"

Will looked back down at the scale, examining it hard. "Hmmm," Will said, "why don't we just go off on our merry way and hope for the best? It's bound to do something sooner rather than later."

"Sure, that seems logical enough," Tessa shrugged. Will gave her a look of surprise, as if he wasn't expecting her to agree so easily. It did seem like the only possibility to get the damn scale to work.

Will urged Xanthos forward, starting off towards the nearest path, and Tessa closely followed with Wayfarer right on his tail. They rode for what felt like forever, Will not stopping once for a break. He eventually slowed down to a trot, and Tessa brought Wayfarer besides Will, figuring this would be the best time to talk.

"Any luck?" Tessa asked, bending her head towards the scale, which Will had just brought out from his coat pocket.

"No," Will said, staring at the scale in disappointment. "Ugh, why couldn't Magnus just make this a hell of a lot simpler?" They rounded a corner, and right when Will looked like he was about to throw the scale for real, it began to glow. It emitted a blue light that was unlike anything Tessa had seen before.

"By the Angel," Will muttered under his breath.

Tessa could only stare at it. "I guess we're going the right way," she said, giving Will a meek smile, who beamed at her in return. Tessa felt her cheeks redden and took the chance to observe her surroundings. "Wait a minute," Tessa said, realization dawning on her, "it makes perfect sense. We're in Brocelind Forest. According to the map that Magnus showed me, we're heading in the right direction. We did it, Will!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Will said, grinning ear to ear. He then pushed Xanthos forward and dashed off, Tessa laughing right behind him.

* * *

Nightfall had descended a little too quickly. After spending most of the day being lost, Will and Tessa were only on the right path for a couple hours. Not wanting to risk staying on the road too late into the night, they arrived in the biggest town on their journey, Cadair Idris. Coming from the Institute, Will found that the village wasn't that big in size, but had to be quite important to have been named partly after the kingdom.

Will and Tessa rode their horses to the stables at the entrance of Cadair Idris. They dismounted Xanthos and Balios, and Will gave the stable boy a few coins, then inquired about a place to stay.

"There's only one place in town, and you won't miss it," the stable boy said, beaming at the money that Will had given him. Will must have overestimated the cost, but brushed it off. It wasn't like he could take that money back.

Will and Tessa grabbed their appropriate baggage and made their way away from the stables and into town. It was nearly nine at night, and they were both tired and hungry from a full day's worth of traveling. There were a few late night stragglers flitting around the town, doing whatever business they had.

Sure enough, right in the middle of the town was a great, imposing wooden structure. This had to be the inn, Will figured by the number of weary travellers crowding around it. But it wasn't that that struck his attention. He looked up at the sign of a flying bird, the words flashing in front of him: _The Great Heron_. Will sighed in frustration. His family just had to impose their status everywhere, annoying Will.

Will reached for the wooden door and pushed it open, Tessa clinging to his arm. He didn't blame her. The place looked like a roughhouse, nothing like what he would have expected in a place named after his family. There were mainly men, drinking kegs of beer and feasting on various, uncooked meat. There were even a few monstrous men in a corner engaged in a fight. Others were watching along the side of the inn, intently smoking out of their pipes. Even the women looked disastrous, wearing too scantily dressed clothing and playing along with the men in the most suggestive manners.

Will ignored them and made his way towards the counter at the side of the inn. Will looked over his shoulder to check if Tessa was still there. She looked up at him with those big gray eyes, and Will breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a man at the counter, who was intently trying his best to ignore all the raucous around him. "What can I do for you?" he said, looking up at them and revealing a set of missing teeth.

"We're looking for a room to stay," Will said, "we'll take anything you have."

"Just the two of ya?" the man asked, peering over the counter and eyeing Tessa in a way that made Will's blood boil.

"Yes," Will said curtly, stepping in front of Tessa to block her from the man.

The man shrugged, clearly not interested in the matter. "You're in luck," the man said, turning behind him to the rack of keys and taking the last set. "That'll be room twelve for you. Straight up the stairs and down the hall to your left," he said, pushing the keys towards Will.

"Thank you," Will said, taking the keys and giving the money in return, not meeting the man's eyes. He turned to Tessa. "Let's go," he whispered into her ear. Will took her hand and led him up the stairs. He located the room and flung the door open, allowing Tessa in first before closing the door behind him.

"Well, this is… cozy," Tessa said. Will took one look at the room and understood immediately what she meant. The room was tiny with a window at the far end that overlooked the village and a washstand at one end of the room. There was a single candle that illuminated the room in a soft, warm glow. But that wasn't what Tessa had meant. There was only one bed in the room, and a small one of that.

"Looks like we're going to have to get comfortable, Tess," Will smirked at her, knowing that annoyed Tessa. He always found that endearing, though.

"I can sleep on the floor," Tessa said a little too fast, clearly mortified at the thought of sleeping together.

Will rolled his eyes. "No you're not. And don't be silly, Tess. It's only for one night."

Now it was Tessa's turn to roll her eyes. She went over to the other side and deposited her belongings alongside the wall. Will did the same, leaning his sword against his luggage.

"Why does your sword have the Herondale mark?" Tessa said, curiosity filling her voice, her gray eyes wide. Panic flooded through Will. It never occurred to him that somebody might see the hilt of the sword and observe the herons on them. And this particular somebody didn't like the royal family. Will almost slapped himself in the face, but stopped the urge quickly.

"Um," Will said, racking his brain for excuses, "Magnus gave it to me. You know, since I do serve the Herondales and all and he is aware of it. He claimed that he knew the king and was given this sword and thought that I would need some weapon."

"I see," Tessa said, looking somewhat convinced. Will hoped that she would believe this.

"Well," Will said two octaves higher, "why don't we go get supper?"

Tessa nodded in agreement. "I am a little hungry."

Will crossed the room to the door and when Tessa was out, locked the room. They made their way back downstairs, where the crowd seemed to have subsided. Will went over to the bar and ordered some cheap bread and meat for him and Tessa, since they didn't have that much money to spare. Once they got their food, they sat down in the corner of the inn at a wooden table, hoping to go unnoticed.

Tessa ate in silence, and Will was in no mood for conversation. He was exhausted and could only focus on the taste of food, even if it wasn't the best. However, a conversation to the side of him and Tessa between two men caught his attention.

"Did you hear the recent news about Prince Will?" said one of the men.

"No I haven't," said the other.

"It's been buzzing all over the kingdom!" the first man exclaimed. "Rumour has it the prince has been bedridden for a couple weeks now. It appears that he won't even leave his room, nonetheless even see his parents. I do hope he gets better by the time of the royal wedding."

"Oh no, that's terrible!" said the second man. "I hope so too. May the Angel be watching him."

Will stifled a laugh. Leave it up to Cecily and Jem to come up with the most logical scenarios from keeping King Edmund and Queen Linette from digging around too much. Will could only hope that the two could keep up this act for as long as possible.

"How convenient," Tessa grumbled. Will had nearly forgotten she was there. He was too hung up on the two men's conversation.

"Come again?" Will asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"The prince just happened to fall sick before the wedding," Tessa huffed, "I could care less anyways. He's just a lazy prince who doesn't give a damn for the kingdom." She crossed her arms.

"You can't say that," Will said with a twinge of annoyance, "you don't even know the guy. Believe me, Prince William is really not that bad."

"Suit yourself," Tessa said stubbornly, "you'll always side with him."

"Aren't you going to eat the rest of your food?" Will indicated to her half-eaten plate, wanting to change the subject. He never felt comfortable talking about his true self with Tessa. If she ever found out… well Will prayed that she would never have to find out.

"I'm not hungry," Tessa said, then turned away.

Will went back to devouring his food, trying to keep his mind off what had just happened. Once he was done, he rose and strode back towards the room with Tessa. They changed into their appropriate nightclothes, being careful not to look at each other as they dressed. Will spun around to see Tessa in a white night gown, which flowed around her beautifully, even if she was going to sleep in it.

Tessa climbed into bed and then glanced up at Will. "What?" she asked, but not unkindly.

"Nothing," Will said, turning his back on her, his face flushed. He sauntered over to the washstand and splashed some water on his face, feeling refreshed, then blew out the candle.

"Will?" Tessa said softly, as Will got into the bed beside her. The bed was small, and their bodies were closely pressed together in order for them to both fit.

"Yes, Tess," Will said, looking over to her, but she was facing the other way.

"I'm sorry about what I said. About the prince. It's just, I've always felt that way about the Herondales and my feelings have never changed. I promise I won't offend him again."

"Tess, don't worry about that," Will said as gentle as possible, "it's just a small thing. We have bigger matters to face. Like the dragon."

"Of course," Tessa let out a laugh that sounded like music filling Will's ears.

"Tess, turn over," Will said without thinking. Reluctantly, Tessa shifted around until her gray eyes met Will's midnight one. Will smiled at her, and Tessa snuggled her head into Will's chest.

"Good night, Will," Tessa said sleepily, her eyes shutting tight.

"Good night, Tess."

* * *

Will woke with a jolt, sitting up straight in the bed, as Tessa did the same. Will heard screams of panic outside, flooding the night air. He clambered out of bed and ran over to the window. There were blazes of fire, and people running frantically around the street.

"What's going on?" Tessa asked in alarm.

"Stay put," Will instructed her, pulling on his normal street clothes. "I'm going to go have a look." Before Tessa could respond, Will burst through the door, sword in hand, and ran down the corridor towards the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

"Sir, you shouldn't go out there!" the same man from behind the counter warned Will. "It's not safe out there."

"I don't care," Will snarled and cast the entrance door open and hurtled into the night. He ran away from the inn, to get a better look at the commotion. People were swinging their arms in fear, trying to seek safety.

"You shouldn't be out here!" said a passerby to Will, "there's a raid on the village."

A raid? Will had to put an end on this. He began to run closer to where all the chaos was happening when he froze. He immediately recognized the men leading the raid. They were the same thieves that had attacked him those two weeks ago in the men. Only this time, they seemed to have grown in number. On top of that, they had sacks of what Will presumed was gold coins, and were forcefully pulling woman and children alongside them. It was sickening.

Some men broke off and darted to The Great Heron, breaking their way inside. _Tessa_. Will's thoughts surfaced instantly to her. Without a second thought, Will scampered to the inn. He was too far away, and only hoped he could make it in time. Will was almost there when the men burst through the doors, carrying a sole figure dressed in men's clothing. Tessa.

Foolish girl, Will thought to himself. It was obvious that she intended to come after him, but at the expense of her own self. "Tessa!" Will shouted and bolted to her.

"Will!" she screamed, fear evident in her voice.

Will rounded the men and punched the closest one. "Back away from her," he demanded in a low, threatening tone.

One of the men turned to Will and Will knew who he was. The chief. "You and what army?" he laughed. "Get him, boys," he said.

Two of his men cornered Will, hitting Will hard. Will collapsed on the ground, feeling blood trickle down his face. He looked up to see the men moving away from him and jerking Tessa towards their horses in the side. Will tried to stand up to go after them, but his knees gave out and he collapsed back on the ground. He took a few deep breaths, then slowly heaved himself up to a standing position and burst into a run. The men had already mounted their horses and galloped away into the night, taking Tessa with them. Unfortunately, Will knew he couldn't reach them on foot.

Will clenched his hands into fists at his sides in frustration. He couldn't just stay here and do nothing while Tessa was off with the thieves. He felt as if she was his responsibility. Will was determined to find Tessa and bring her back, even at the cost of his own quest.

* * *

**Yay this chapter is nearly 3000 words! I guess this makes up for the uber short one last time haha. So lots of good stuff happening now and finally some action. Tessa nearly figured Will out, but good that didn't happen. But now Tessa is gone :( Never fear, because Will is here! Gosh that sounds so cheesy... Yeah but anyways, I don't really want to show her as a weak character because she's not. But for the purpose of this scene, she just had to be a teensy bit weak to get the ball rolling**

**GUYS WE REACHED OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS! This makes me so happy! You all get another virtual cookie :D**

**Review! Because then you'll find out the fate of Will's quest! And what will happen to Tessa too!**


	14. The Pandemonium Club

"Where did they take her?" Will shouted. He was back at the Great Heron and was glaring furiously at the same man at the counter.

"I don't know," said the man, shrinking back in his seat and throwing his hands up in hopes to calm Will.

"You lie," Will snarled. Some of the travelers were seated wearily by the bar, watching Will with curiosity and fear. "Tell me where she is."

"I swear on the Angel," the man said timidly, "I don't know those men and I don't know where they took your girl."

Will raised his fist in an action to punch the man, but then thought better of it and lowered his hand, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. "I'll be back," Will said, and stormed off to the bar. He flung himself dramatically onto a wooden stool, while the bartender narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Get me a beer," Will growled, slamming his hand on the table, "and make it fast." Will hated acting like this, and drinking on top of that, but he was too distraught after what had happened to even think straight. "Make it faster!" Will ordered, and the bartender quickly filled a mug with beer from a keg and slid it over to Will. Will took the mug by the handle and gulped the beer down, finishing it extraordinarily fast, although not really feeling any of the effects. He gave the cup to the bartender and demanded yet another beer.

"You know, drinking on your sorrows is not the best solution. Neither is yelling at poor and innocent people," said a voice behind Will. Will spun around slowly, the effects of alcohol slowly taking its toll on him.

"What was that?" Will slurred. There was a tall man standing before Will, wearing a cloak with a hood that was completely concealing his face.

"I said," the man drawled in a low voice, sounding somewhat bored, "you treat people like shit. Which, I might add, will not help in this situation if you want to save your girl."

That seemed to get Will's attention. Will tried to get a better look at this man, but was unsuccessful. "Who are you?" Will asked, raising his eyebrow. Will wasn't sure if he could trust this man or not, but he seemed to have some idea about what had occurred in Cadair Idris earlier that night.

The man pushed back his hood, fully revealing his face. Despite the amount of alcohol Will had consumed, the man stood out clearly in his field of vision and Will felt his jaw drop. He had never seen anyone who looked quite like this man. The man was lean and taller than Will, but that wasn't what had captured Will's attention. The man was green. Not an emerald green, but a light, jade green tinted his skin. On top of that, he had a shock of white hair on his head with two little horns poking out. The man seemed unfazed by Will's expression; he must have grown accustomed to people staring at him like that.

"My name is Ragnor Fell," the man said slowly, enunciating every syllable, "and I know how to help you get your precious little Theresa Gray back."

* * *

Tessa had no idea where in hell she was going. She had slipped on her traveling clothes in hopes of helping Will outside in the skirmish, only to be taken away by the very people that were destroying the village. Not to mention that these were the same thieves that had attacked Will a fortnight before. They had grabbed ahold of her and blindfolded her, throwing her onto one of their horses and riding away into the night. She had heard Will call out for her, but she knew that an attempt for him to come after her was futile. Her hopes for Will coming to get her were starting to dwindle by the second.

The men had ridden the horses furiously through the night, not even stopping to take a break. Eventually, after what felt like hours to Tessa but was probably shorter, the riding came to a slow trot and eventually there was no more movement. Tessa was lifted from up the saddle, most likely by the rider that held her in place, and forced to walk forward.

"Come on, we don't have all day," grumbled one of the man, nudging Tessa to move faster with something poking her in the back. Tessa didn't want to move any quicker, but obliged, in part by fear in angering these men further. They did not seem like happy people and Tessa was in no mood to test their patience.

As Tessa walked, she felt the soft ground beneath it. She guessed they were in a woods of some sort, also by the faint, earthy smell of pine trees and dirt. The blindfold didn't help at all; she stumbled a bit, but the men urged her forward.

"Where are you taking me?" Tessa asked hoarsely.

"Shut up and walk," said another voice, "you'll see eventually." Well, at least that meant they would take the blindfold off.

One of the men grabbed Tessa from in front by the arm and yanked her forward. Tessa was confused, but then when her feet planted on the ground, she realized why. She was no longer outside. There was a musty smell surrounding her and the floorboards creaked as Tessa was led across the building, or wherever she was now.

The men stopped leading her then forcefully pushed her down, until Tessa's butt landed unceremoniously on a chair. The blindfold was ripped off her eyes, and Tessa blinked, adjusting her eyes to the dim light. Before she could run out, the men forced her hands behind her, binding them tightly. Tessa hated feeling utterly hopeless.

One of the men left the room, presumabely to go get his master or whoever decided to send Tessa to this hellhole. Tessa took the moment to look around her. She was what looked like a tiny, wooden cottage. She was in one room, made of wood and stone and lined with shelves, although nothing was on them. There were ten men or so around her, and she knew that these were the same men she had indirectly encountered before. But why would they want her? She was the only one they had taken from the village and it was not as if they had seen her the day Will was attack. _Will_. Her heart lurched at the thought of him. What had happened to him after the attack on Cadair Idris? Tessa hoped that he would keep himself safe and not bother to come after her. She couldn't risk himself getting hurt by these men a second time. The first time was hard enough, nearly unbearable to Tessa.

Tessa's thoughts of Will broke off as a figure entered the room, his features too hard to discern in the dim lighting. "My, my. It's sure good to see you, little cousin." Tessa looked up in surprise to see Nathaniel Gray staring down at her.

* * *

"How do I know that I can trust you?" Will asked Ragnor, as if the green skin tone was enough to answer that.

"I am a friend of Magnus Bane," stated Ragnor, sitting down at the bar stool next to Will.

"Is that so?" Will arched an eyebrow. Will felt as if he heard many others say this, and was dubious if Ragnor was telling the truth.

"You don't believe me," Ragnor said this more as a fact, rather than a question, although his voice sounded genuine.

"How do I know to trust you?" Will said, although something about Ragnor made him feel comforted.

"Oh you can trust me," Ragnor shrugged, "There aren't many of us left," he added quietly.

"Us?" Then it dawned on Will. "You're a sorcerer, like Magnus. That explains a lot." Including the green skin, Will thought, but didn't dare speak this out loud.

Ragnor looked around the inn nervously, before turning back to Will. "Could we go somewhere else a little more… private? I would prefer that we don't have company while we speak."

Will felt himself nod numbly and rose from his seat. The bartender had handed Will his second beer, but Will didn't bother to drink it. He made his way across the room, Ragnor right behind him, and began to ascend the stairs.

"Hey, no strangers allowed," shouted the man from the counter.

Will shot him a poisonous glare, which shut the man up, and he shrank back to his seat to resume whatever he was occupying himself with before. Ragnor chuckled as he followed Will up the stairs. Will easily found room twelve, but felt a pang of sadness at the thought that Tessa wasn't there with him. But if Ragnor was who he said he was, then Will would hopefully be able to get his Tessa back to him, safe and sound.

Will opened the door and lit the candle, while Ragnor cautiously shut the door and then seated himself on the bed, clearly making himself at home. Will crossed the room to the wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms and waiting in expectation for Ragnor to speak.

"Ever heard of the Pandemonium Club?" Ragnor inquired. Will's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Of all possible things that Ragnor could have said, this was definitely not on the top of Will's list. "I thought not," Ragnor smirked, registering Will's expression. He continued, "they are an ancient society that has been thriving under the dark in Idris for centuries. Not many know of it, but those of us who have lived for a long time have come to know of its existence. However, none of us have any knowledge of their motives, but everything they've done has been clear and calculated. There is one thing we know, though. The club is ran by a powerful man, the Magister."

Will had no idea why Ragnor was telling him all this and was utterly confused. "What does this have to do with Tessa?"

"They are the ones that took her away. And they are also the very ones who attacked you in the woods." So Will's attack was not a random occurrence after all. Like Ragnor said, everything that these people did had a reason.

"Why?" Will asked, slightly horrified that he and Tessa were targeted in such a way.

Ragnor shrugged. "They have their motives. Although, I'm not sure if they know who you truly are." Will widened his eyes in surprise, but Ragnor laughed. "Don't worry, Magnus only told me. He actually sent me after you and Tessa to keep an eye on you both on this quest of yours. Magnus knew the attack in the woods had to be led by the Pandemonium Club. As the attackers left you, he saw that some of the weapons with them had an _ouroboros_ on it. An ancient symbol depicting two serpents biting each other's tail to form a circle. I saw that symbol once more tonight on their horses' saddles. It's no coincidence that these are all related."

Will slid down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He let all this information sink in, trying to make sense of it. All Will hoped for when he escaped the Institute was a peaceful life, devoid of any mishaps and trouble. But this is exactly what was happening to Will, and Will felt disappointed, almost betrayed. It was as if the Angel was working against him.

"You're overwhelmed, aren't you?" Ragnor said, peering down at Will. "I know, it's a lot to comprehend, especially after a long night."

"What about Tessa?" Will said, glancing up at the green man.

"What about her?" Ragnor retorted.

"You promised you would help me find her."

"I made no such promise," Ragnor said, and Will opened his mouth to protest, but Ragnor continued, "but, I did say I would help. I am a sorcerer, after all."

Will furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement, and then he understood what Ragnor meant. "Ah, you want something to track."

Will's eyes swept around the room until it rested on something on the bedside table. Will walked over and picked it up. It was a golden necklace, with an angel pendant made of cogs and gears attached to it. Will had noticed Tessa wearing it, but never paid much attention to detail to it. Will picked it up and was surprised by how lightweight it was. He held it out to Ragnor, who took it and gingerly held it on his green palm.

Ragnor brought his face down towards the necklaces and muttered a string of incomprehensible words to it. Will figured these must have been incantations from an ancient language that no one, except the sorcerers, knew. After a few seconds, the necklace began glowing brighter and brighter.

"I think, we got our signal," Ragnor grinned, "if you would follow me, Mr. Herondale." Ragnor made his way out the door and Will scowled at the fact that Ragnor had used his real name, but gladly obliged.

* * *

Nate Gray paced impatiently in front of Tessa. Tessa still was recovering from the shock of seeing her cousin here. She never expected Nate to make it out this far from Blackfriars; she had always assumed that the furthest he ever ventured was to the taverns and pubs on the outskirts of town. As she looked up at her cousin, she could no longer see what her Aunt Harriet had called her "little golden boy". This seemed to be a very different Nate, an almost sinister Nate that was not sending off good vibes.

"Oh, my little Tessie," Nate grinned evilly, "you were almost too easy to get. I thought I was up to a little challenge to capture you, but it was much simpler than I thought. Too bad that innocent village had to suffer."

"Nate, what the hell do you think your doing?" Tessa spat, giving him the most hateful glare.

"I'm just doing my duty, Tessie," he smirked.

"Your duty for what? For yourself? For these thieves? I knew you were a lowlife Nate, but never expected you to be this bad."

"Is that what you thought? For all these years do you really know what I was doing? Or were you just ignorant this whole time?"

"What do you mean?" Tessa said in a low voice, scared to anticipate what Nate would say next.

"This whole time you've been living under a shadow, thinking that your cousin was completely useless and that you had to provide for the family. Well, you're wrong. I am the one who has been protecting you. I have been keeping you safe for him."

"For who?" Tessa said in a daze. He had been protecting her? Tessa always thought their roles were reversed. Aunt Harriet had said that Nate was like a poor, lonely puppy who needed to be shielded from the terrible woes of the outside world. If Aunt Harriet would see Nate now, she would be dropping dead in her gravesite. Again.

"The Magister," Nate said, with a hint of triumph. "He is a great man, and he has been wanting you for years, Tessie dear."

"Me? But, why me?" Tessa said in a small voice. No man had ever wanted Tessa before, so why would this complete stranger take such an interest?

"Don't bother asking me," Nate remarked in an irritated tone. "Ask him when he gets here. Mind you, that'll be in a couple hours. I just need to ensure that you don't get out of here. And hopefully, that loathsome servant boy doesn't find you." Will. Tessa prayed that he could find her. "The little distraction in the village should keep him preoccupied. You've been spending an awful lot of time with him, Tessie. The Magister would not like it if he sees you two together again."

"You," Tessa said in understanding. "You sent these men after Will that night two weeks ago. He almost got killed that day!"

"That was the intention," Nate said unhappily, "but, yes. I did send them after him. I heard you too fight and was relieved that that wretched boy was finally leaving the household. But I had to make sure that boy was out of the way. For good."

"How could you?" Tessa exclaimed, appalled by this, "Will has done nothing to deserve such unkindness from you. He has been a guest at our household and has contributed his fair share. More than you have."

"Nothing?" Nate echoed her words, "all he's been is a lazy ass. But enough about this Will of yours. You must be ready to meet the Magister. He has certain services in mind for you." He winked at Tessa, and Tessa turned her head away in disgust.

"Go away," Tessa said meekly.

"Fine," Nate slurred with a roll of his blue eyes, "you bore me. But I shall expect you to remain here until the Magister comes. It will truly be an honour for you to meet him." And with that, Nate spun around on his heel and marched out of the room, leaving Tessa feeling completely sad and helpless. _Oh Will, where are you when I need you?_, she thought to herself.

* * *

"Ah, here we are," Ragnor whispered to Will. Stopping atop a small dirt hill amidst the dense forest they were in. The two of them followed the scale through Brocelind Forest, before stopping short in this spot. Will had packed his belongings, along with Tessa's, with no intent on returning to Cadair Idris. He had taken Xanthos and Wayfarer; he was riding Xanthos, while Ragnor had taken Wayfarer for the time being. If they got out of this alive, then Tessa would ride on her horse as before. They had left their horses a good distance away from where they were standing, not wanting to risk getting caught. Now, they were overlooking a small cottage in the middle of the woods, which appeared to be uninhabited for several years.

"Well, good luck Herondale," Ragnor said, with a dramatic bow.

"Hey, aren't you coming with me?" Will asked in a panic.

Ragnor put his hands up. "I only said I would take you here. The rest is up to you. I can finish them off, if you like, but I'm letting you do all the dirty work."

Will grumbled and stalked off towards the cottage, leaving Ragnor behind in the dust. Will didn't know how he was going to be able to take down these thieves; he had struggled so much before, and did not want to die fighting these thieves rather than slaying the dragon. Suddenly, Magnus's voice reverberated in his head: _If you ever need help, take this, and rub it three times_. Will slid his hand into his coat pocket and felt the familiar, metallic feeling of the coin. Magnus had later told Will that the coin would help Will once and only once on this quest.

Will had a choice to make. Should he use the coin now to save Tessa or when he needed it the most, to slay the dragon? Will thought hard about this until his head hurt and he finally reached his decision. Slowly, he pulled the coin out, determined to go in and rescue Tessa alive.

* * *

**Soooooo, I apologize in advance for the multiple switching of POVs in this chapter. It was necessary haha.**

**Yessss so Will is coming to the rescue! And he chose Tessa over the dragon :D Isn't that sweet? Oh, and thank you her0ngray for getting my creative juices running :) I had a different plan with these men before, but your review prompted me to think more about this and I like the direction this is going on now. It's more TID based and more logical.**

**Okay, so I've literally been blasting soundtrack music for the past two hours to finish this so I wouldn't get distracted with regular music because I tend to do that so yeah. And now I'm rambling. And now it's past midnight and I gotta get up bright and early tomorrow for work. Yay for summer!**

**Peace out!**


	15. Lost and Found

Will walked down the hill. No, more like he ran down the hill, desperate to get to Tessa as fast as he could. As Will approached the cottage, he was surprised to see that none of the thieves were guarding the place. He would have thought that there would be some men there. It just proved to Will that they were even more dim-witted than before.

Will stopped in front of the wooden door and quickly surveyed his surroundings. After ensuring that no one was following him, he slowly opened the door, which unfortunately creaked rather loudly. Way to announce to everyone that he was now there. Will brushed this off and hurried inside.

To his dismay, the ceilings were fairly low in height. Will was very tall, and if he was slightly taller, he would have to crouch, which would not be convenient for a rescue. But luckily, he didn't have to worry about it.

For a tiny cottage, the place was built like a maze. Although, it made sense since it was probably designed to confuse intruders such as Will. Will ran from room after room but all he saw was the same, small windowless rooms with wooden floorings and stone walls. Each room also carried the same musty smell, making Will think that this place had been deserted for years. After what seemed like forever, Will was close to giving up when he meandered into one final room.

And in it was Tessa.

She was seated in a single chair in the centre of the room. Her hands were bound behind her, and rage swelled inside Will at the thought that someone did that to her. Her head was bent down, although Will could see that her features were downcast and her long, brown hair was hanging wildly off her shoulders. Will never thought she looked so beautiful.

Will strode into the room and shut the door behind him. Tessa immediately looked up. "Will?" she whispered, hope filling her voice. She looked up and at the sight of him, her gray eyes grew even wider with delight. Will grinned back at her. He had to prevent himself from nearly running and stumbling towards her. In no time, although it felt like forever, Will had reached her.

"Hold still," Will instructed, and she weakly nodded. He raised his sword and began to saw through the bonds that held her hands in place. They came out astoundingly easily, and fell to the ground with a soft _thud_.

Will ran around to face Tessa, and Tessa collapsed into his arms, embracing him tightly. Will happily returned the embrace, relieved to see Tessa in one piece.

"I knew you would come," Tessa said reassuringly into his ear, "I just knew it."

"You came for me after those very men attacked me in the woods," Will replied truthfully. "I couldn't let them harm you in any such possible way, Tessa."

Tessa drew back, although she kept her hands on Will's shoulders. Amazement sparkled in her striking, gray eyes. "Will, you're so stupid."

"I – what?" Will asked, completely surprised. This was definitely not the reaction he was expecting.

"Oh, Will," Tessa laughed half-heartedly, "coming after me and those dangerous men, although I should have expected it from you. Now, tell me. How were you able to find me? Surely you must have had some help to find this wretched place."

"I did," Will smiled at her, "Ragnor Fell. He's a friend of Magnus Bane's, actually. A sorcerer too. He put a tracking spell on your angel necklace and that was how I was able to find you." From his trouser pocket, Will silently drew the necklace out. It was no longer glowing, now that he found Tessa. Her eyes shone at the sight of it. Surely, this necklace must have meant something special to her.

"Put it on me," Tessa said quietly, but firmly. Will nodded, and Tessa turned her back to him, twisting her hair around her shoulder. Will unclasped the necklace and strung it around Tessa's pale neck, fastening the clasp at the nape of her neck. His hands lingered there, and he felt himself stroking his hands along the necklace, as Tessa dropped her hands and let her chocolate, brown hair slide into place. As she turned to face him again, Will's slim fingers traced along the necklace down her collarbone to where the pendant rested above her chest. Will let his fingertips stay there a little while longer, feeling the pace of her heart quicken by his touch. Her eyes were completely shut, her face flushed.

"Tess," Will said hoarsely, and begun to lean in, letting his instincts take over.

"Oh, well this is all very touching," said a voice from the doorway. Will sprang away from Tessa and looked to see none other than Nathaniel Gray standing there, giving both Will and Tessa a menacing glare.

"What are you doing here?" Will asked, trying his best to keep his voice level.

"Ah, the guest has finally decided to leave my humble abode," Nate smirked

"Your abode?" Tessa spat, speaking up. "You rarely come home, nevertheless help me while I'm there. How dare you call that place your own. All you've done is lie to me and done nothing to protect your loved ones. Will belongs to there more than you do."

Nate's blue eyes flashed. "He has done nothing to deserve it," Nate said in a low voice. He then looked at Will, "You," he snarled, "you better keep your filthy hands off of her."

"You haven't answered my question," Will said calmly, ignoring Nate's comment.

"She hasn't told you yet, eh?" Nate said, jerking his head towards Tessa. Tessa looked away from the two of them and lowered her head, masking her emotions. "Of course she hasn't. You're off to a good start, Tessie. Not trusting him is the right way to go."

Tessa stood up tall and glared at her brother. "I haven't gotten the chance to tell him, Nate. I trust him way more than I trust you." Will admired Tessa for standing up to her cousin, and the fact that she was defending Will.

"I'm guessing she has never told you of the Magister?" Nate said lazily.

"Up until an hour ago, I never even heard of him," Tessa muttered to herself so that only Will heard her.

"And you expect me to know of this Magister?" Will snorted.

"It's _the_ Magister," Nate corrected Will, his nostrils flaring in anger, "you ought to learn that. He is due to show up in an hour's time. The Magister is a great man and he deserves some degree of respect from a lowlife like you." Will realized with a jolt where he had heard that name before. Ragnor had mentioned the Magister before, stating he was the head of the Pandemonium Club. Somehow, everything was connected.

"Nate! How dare you!" Tessa snapped at him.

"You need to stay away from this servant," Nate retorted. Will was tempted to correct Nate on this matter, but thought better of it. Just saying that he was the prince would make matters a hell of a lot worse. "You need to be as presentable as possible when the Magister arrives."

"Wait, what?" Will asked in confusion, "what does this man want with Tessa?"

Nate shrugged lazily. "How should I know?"

Then it occurred to Will. "It was you all along. You're the one that has been after us from the beginning. You have been waiting for the opportune moment to capture Tessa and deliver her to the Magister."

"So the servant boy isn't as stupid as I thought he was," Nate smiled to himself, though there was nothing warm about his smile.

"Speak for yourself," Will narrowed his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint, but I think it's best if Tessa and I go on our merry way. You know? To save the village that you claim to love so much." Will felt increasingly bold, and reached for Tessa's hand, who happily took his. Will began to lead the way, when Nate stepped in front of them to block their way out.

"Not so fast," he sneered, "I brought some friends along." From behind him emerged a group of men. The thieves. So they were here after all. "Kill him," he said, eerily calm, "but spare her. We need her alive for the Magister when he arrives."

The men seemed thrilled with this idea, as they drew out their swords. Tessa turned to Will, a look of panic sweeping across her face. They backed away from the men, and as they did, Will slid his hand into his weapons belt, producing a dagger.

"You know how to use this, right?" Will asked, thought he was pretty sure she didn't. To his disbelief, Tessa nodded. This girl knew how to surprise Will in many ways, and Will smiled to himself, despite the situation. He handed it to Tessa, who gladly took it.

"Go get them," Nate commanded, and the men charged towards Tessa and Will.

"Split up!" Will instructed to Tessa, and she did as she was told. Will found himself facing two of the men. They lunged forward with their weapons, but Will was faster, parrying their motions. Their weapons clattered loudly to the floor, and Will took the time to knock the hell out of them. He punched one of the men in the stomach, while he kicked the other behind the knees. They both fell heavily to the floor.

Will took the opportunity to glance over to Tessa. She was doing quite fine by herself. She had already knocked three of the men down to the ground cold. She was throwing a fit of punches and kicks, and was able to defend herself with the measly dagger that Will had given her. Pretty impressive, but Will's fascination quickly dwindled when more men rounded on Tessa, surrounding her.

"No, you stupid idiots," Nate complained in a whiny voice. He was still standing at the door, not doing his fair share to the fight. Lazy ass, Will thought to himself. "You're not supposed to attack her. Kill him!" He pointed at Will. The men looked up from Tessa to Will, in puzzlement, but didn't follow Nate's instructions and just rounded up on Tessa.

Will panicked, knowing that he and Tessa couldn't take them all down, but then he remembered. How could he possibly forget? He reached into his pocket and pulled out the coin that Magnus had given to them. He desperately rubbed it three times, as Magnus had told him. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Frustrated, Will threw the coin at the floor.

"I damn wish that you would work!" he shouted. Suddenly, a bright light emitted from the coin and pierced through the room. Just as rapidly as it started, the light dimmed down, and coin appeared to have lost its luster. Will looked up to see that all the men, including Nate Gray, had dropped down to the floor.

"Are they dead?" Tessa asked from the corner where she still stood. At least she was unaffected.

Will kicked the nearest man, and saw that he was still breathing. "No," Will shook his head, his hair falling at his face. He impatiently pushed it away. "I don't think so. Just rendered them unconscious or something." Will bent down and picked up the coin, pocketing it away.

"What is that?" Tessa said curiously. Of course Tessa would be asking questions, even in the most stressful situation.

"Something that Magnus gave me," Will said hurriedly, not wanting to elaborate further. "Now, come on. We must get going before the Magister shows up."

He grabbed Tessa's hand and blindly left the room, trying to figure out how to get out of the cottage. They emerged outside to the morning; though, the sun hadn't peaked out yet, just a faint blue sparkling up behind the treetops. Apparently it was much easier to get out than in. Will didn't stop and kept running, keeping his grip firm on Tessa's hand. She didn't slow down either, maintaining the same pace as him.

They ran up the hill without breaking a sweat. Ragnor Fell appeared from behind a tree, beaming at them.

"You made it," Ragnor said, sounding relieved.

"Ragnor, Tessa. Tessa, Ragnor," Will spoke fast, "the men are still in there, and they are unconscious for the time being. Is there anything you can do?"

"Leave that to me," Ragnor said instantly. "Your horses are waiting just ten paces from here. Now go, before they discover they discover you missing. And don't worry; I'll use magic to cover your tracks."

Will nodded, and he and Tessa sprinted in the direction of where he left the horses. Will hastily helped Tessa on Wayfarer. He then mounted Xanthos, and he and Tessa jolted out of the woods and towards the dragon.

* * *

The Magister steered his great, black horse to a stop in front of the stone cottage in Brocelind Forest right at the crack of dawn. This was the spot that Nathaniel Gray had informed him to come to. And this was the moment that he was waiting for.

The minute the Magister approached to cottage, he knew something was wrong. No one was there to greet him; he was expecting a little more, given his status and all. That wasn't all that was off, though. The Magister smelt it: the stench of magic.

He broke his way into the cottage, since the door was locked. He surveyed each room, seeing no evidence of a fight of any sorts. He was about to give up when he encountered a room with a solo chair, which was toppled over. The stink was extremely potent here and the Magister could only guess that this was where everything went wrong.

Someone had taken his men away. And Theresa Gray was missing. Curse his men for doing everything wrong… he could never rely on such dimwits. Nevertheless, the Magister vowed to himself that he would find his men and set them free. Then, he would locate Tessa Gray and she would be all his.

* * *

Tessa and Will rode like hell all through the day and into the night. They didn't dare stop for any break until they were as far away as possible from the dreadful cottage in Brocelind Forest. Tessa was tired and all the energy had been drained out of her, but she had to keep going. Remarkably still had the dragon scale, and was following it with such intense concentration.

After what seemed like hours, and actually was hours, they decided to rest for the night. They veered into a forest and found a willow tree; its branches were pouring over all sides to completely conceal the inside from everything else. Will jumped off his horse, and Tessa did the same. Gently, he reached out and pushed aside the branches, making way for Tessa to go through. Tessa led Wayfarer in, tethering it to a sturdy branch, Will copying her with Xanthos.

Exhausted, Tessa ripped off the pack from her shoulder and reached for the bread that they had packed days ago. She offered some to Will, who hungrily took it and devoured it all in a blink of an eye. He lay his pack against the trunk of the tree and laid down, resting his head against the pack. Tessa followed suit, right next to him.

"Tessa?" Will said, speaking to her for the first time since they left the cottage.

"Yes?" Tessa turned on her side to see Will examining her face, his midnight blue eyes very bright, but beautiful as always.

"Are you alright?" he said in a low voice, sounding concerned.

"What do you mean?" In all honesty, Tessa was not completely sure. She had just found out that a man she barely knew wanted her for some unknown reason and her beloved cousin was a liar and a traitor. And, she had narrowly escaped from the cottage and was tired beyond reason from a whole day's worth of riding. On the bright side, they were closer to the dragon.

"You must have had such a shock," Will said, "finding out that your brother betrayed you to a man you didn't even know. That's tough."

Tessa parted her lips in surprise. The fact that Will could fully understand how she was feeling still amazed her. "I thought I had given him all the love in the world. I thought he understood the meaning of family. I mean, after my aunt passed away a year ago, we only had each other to take care of. I guess I was wrong," she said with an amount of bitterness to her voice that shocked her.

"Family may be family, but it doesn't mean that you can always trust them," Will said with bitterness that matched hers. Tessa then became aware that Will had never opened up about his family. Tessa took the chance to ask him more about it.

"Does your family have any inkling that you're missing?" she inquired.

Will shook his head, as his handsome features darkened. "I highly doubt it. They probably haven't even noticed."

Tessa decided to change the subject. "What was that object that you used back in the cottage?" This was still bugging her, as Will was in a hurry to leave the place.

"Oh that?" Will said with mild interest, raising an eyebrow. "Just something Magnus gave me."

"I know that," Tessa said, feeling exasperated, "you already told me. But what does it do?"

Will closed his eyes, as if he were debating on whether or not to tell her. When he opened them, his eyes were bluer than blue. "Before I left on the quest, Magnus gave me it and told me that when I needed desperate assistance, to rub the coin three times. The catch was that I could only use it one time."

Tessa widened her eyes in bewilderment. "So you used it back there?" Will nodded. "You shouldn't have Will."

"I had to use it. If I hadn't, then they would have taken you away."

"Will, no. You should have saved it for the dragon. You need it more for that than for me. I'm not worth it."

Will looked as if someone had slapped it. "Not worth it? You are worth everything, Tess."

"Will –," Tessa started, but did not know what to say. She was truly touched that Will had used the coin for her own safety. Although, they still had the dragon to worry about.

"Get some sleep, Tess," Will said gently, kissing her on the forehead and wiping away all her troubles for the time being.

Will closed his eyes shut and turned on his back. Tessa, feeling incredibly bold, lifted her head and rested it against his strong chest, hearing his steady heart beat. He tensed at first, then relaxed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer to him. Tessa slipped away into peaceful dreams, never feeling so safe before.

* * *

**Yay to more Wessa! Finally Tessa has been saved! Things are looking good... for now ;)**

**Okay, it's like 3 in the morning now and I'm completely exhausted. But hey, at least I finished this like I planned to. That's always good right? **

**Review! Favourite! Follow! Because then Tessa's dreams will be even happier :)**


	16. A Pleasant Surprise

Tessa woke up with her head on Will's shoulder. She had pleasant dreams, for a change. But then it dawned on her. Nathaniel, the Magister, and her capture: that was all reality. She couldn't stay lost in the dream world forever.

But Will was as real as possible, and Tessa was forever grateful at him.

She slightly lifted her head up to see that Will was already awake. He was staring out past the trees, but at what, Tessa could not decipher. He did not notice that she was awake yet, so she took the time to look at him. The light, giving him a sort of vulnerable appeal, beautifully outlined his sharp, angular features. The sun made him look all black and gold, his dark hair glimmering in the reflection. His eyes, as always, were nearly a shade midnight shade of blue that took Tessa's breath away each time she stared into them. Blue eyes that were looking straight at her.

"See something you like?" Will announced, slightly smirking at her. Tessa felt her face beginning to blush madly, and quickly turned herself away from him. She could feel his smirk deepening even more, even if she couldn't see it.

"We should get going," Tessa said, trying her best to not sneak a peek at him.

"I would go, but you're still on me, Tess," Will said, amusement lacing his voice. Tessa swore that he was grinning. Hurriedly, she leapt off him and straightened her shirt and trousers. She found it much more convenient and comfortable to travel in these. She hated how women had to constantly wear dresses; they were the most problematic and definitely would not have lasted during this quest.

Tessa walked over to where she and Will had tied up the horses, feeling Will right behind her. She untied Wayfarer and led him out of the thicket of willow branches, then mounted him.

"Do you know where to go from here?" Tessa asked Will as he reared Xanthos next to her. She said this more for the sake of saying something. Besides, he was the one with the scale and the map.

Will shrugged and said, "wherever the scale leads us." He pulled out the scale and the map from his pocket and smoothed the map on the saddle, studying it. Tessa snagged a glance at the map, surprised that she had never really looked at it before. There was a red line starting up from Blackfriars that traced its way to Ravenscar Mountains, presumably where the dragon was lurking.

Tessa glanced up to see Will peering down at her. "What?" Tessa asked defensively.

"What are you looking at?" Will said, raising an eyebrow.

"The map," Tessa retorted matter-of-factly, "what, am I not allowed to look at the map? We're a team, William. We're in this together." Will threw her a look of surprise when she used his full name, but quickly regained composure.

"You need your rest," Will said hastily, avoiding her gaze, "I don't want to tire you with anything extra."

"I'm not _that_ weak, Will. I can defend myself." She hated the fact that he thought of her this way, and she had to prove to him that she could fend for herself.

"I don't want to lose you again, Tess." She caught her breath when he said her nickname. Only he used it, and Tessa felt warm all over her heart whenever he said it. That, and he did have a point. She couldn't risk being found by Nate or any more of the Magister's goons.

"Fine," Tessa exhaled, not in the mood to argue. "Let's get going. The dragon can't wait forever." That much was true. They had already been heavily delayed with Nate and the others, and they couldn't afford any more interruptions. Will tipped her a light smile, and he took off riding, Tessa on his tail.

As usual, they rode in silence. Will was intensely focusing on the scale, guiding them wherever the scale lit up, all while keeping an eye on the map. Tessa offered to help him, but he brushed her off. Will was stubborn, as usual.

The sun had struck up in the middle of the sky, indicating that it was noon. The heat was radiating off the road, making the warmth nearly unbearable. Xanthos and Wayfarer began to slow down by the heat and by being forcefully ridden on for hours. Will steered them towards another thicket of trees and deep into the forest, shaded by branches where it was much cooler.

Tessa jumped off Wayfarer and tied him off to the side, sauntering over to Will, who was unpacking the food from his knapsack. Wordlessly, he handed Tessa some dried fruits and bread, and she took it thankfully. As Tessa munched on the food, she could hear the faint trickle of water in the distance, wondering where it came from.

"What did your brother want from you?" Will asked suddenly, out of the blue.

"He said something about the Magister," Tessa said, trying to not think about this mysterious man. She looked up at Will and his midnight eyes sparked in recognition. "You've heard of him?" Tessa added, curiously. What could Will possibly know about the Magister? And why did he keep it a secret from her?

"Ragnor mentioned him when we were searching for you," Will said, sounding truthful, "he runs the Pandemonium Club."

"And you decided to mention this now," Tessa meant for this to have a more teasing edge, but it came out harsher than she intended. A look of hurt flashed on Will's face, and she instantly regretted it.

"We didn't have the chance before," Will said in a low voice, "and I didn't want to overwhelm you with information after what happened yesterday. I thought you should have a calm presence of mind before I told you."

"So what is this Pandemonium Club?" Tessa asked in a much kinder voice.

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ragnor told me about it. He and Magnus are aware of the Club's existence, but neither of them know the ultimate goal of it. All we know is that the attack in the woods two weeks ago and your kidnapping are both linked to it. And, it's ran by a man who calls himself the Magister."

Tessa widened her stormy, gray eyes. "The Magister?" she echoed.

"You know that name?" Will said, registering her recognition.

Tessa nodded vigorously. "Nate mentioned him when we were in the cottage. He wants something from me, but Nate wouldn't say what. Not only that, but also that he was on his way to see me. He was supposed to come in a couple hours, but thankfully you showed up before he did."

Now it was Will's turn to be surprised. "Do you have any inkling on who this man is?"

Tessa shook her head, her brown curls bouncing around her face. She had tied her hair back for the purpose of their journey, but a few strands had come loose. "I don't even have any enemies. Well, except for Nate now." It still hurt, that her aunt's charming boy had turned into such a devilish man. Aunt Harriet would be horrified if she saw Nate like this. "I have no idea who would want me so badly. I'm not even that interesting." She stared down at the boots she wore and kicked the dirt beneath her absentmindedly.

"You are more interesting than you think you are, Tess," Will said so gently that Tessa felt like she was melting. She looked up to see his midnight eyes open and full of desire. He laced his hands through hers and squeezed them. Tessa felt the heat rush to her face. Before he could do anything more, there was a loud _snap_ to their side. Will looked up in alarm, drawing out his sword.

"Who's there?" Will called out. No response. Will stood, levering the sword in his hand. He turned to Tessa. "Stay here. I don't want you to get into danger," he instructed, then spun around his heels and stalked off into the forest. Tessa watched as he was sucked into the never-ending darkness from the trees.

Tessa let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. Suddenly, she heard giggling. Tessa put her senses on high alert, and glanced around the woods. There was nothing. Hesitantly, she walked over to Wayfarer, where she kept a sword that Magnus had given her. She drew it out and held it in front of her.

Then, she heard it again, this time behind her. The giggling went on longer, as if it were both close and far away from her. It sounded like a little girl, but not like a little girl. Tessa was thoroughly confused, but decided it was best if she followed the noise, even if Will had told her to stay put. _Screw Will_, Tessa thought triumphantly. She could prove to him that she wasn't weak for a change.

There was more giggling, and Tessa cautiously walked towards the source of the sound. As she approached it, it seemed to distance itself from her. Tessa wouldn't give up. She kept following it, and soon realized that Wayfarer and Xanthos were no longer in view. She heard the sound of rushing water coming closer to her. It was the same thing she had heard when she was eating with Will.

There was a break in the copse of trees, sunlight streaming down casting light on a waterfall. The waterfall wasn't terrifyingly large, but was surprisingly small. No wonder it sounded like a trickle before. That wasn't what caught Tessa's attention, though.

A girl stood in front of the waterfall. No, not a girl, but more like a lady. She had pale blue skin and silky, lavender, a combination that Tessa had never seen before. Or, more like colours that Tessa had never seen before on people. She was tall and slender, with bare feet that looked seemed delicately webbed. Tessa widened her eyes, keeping her jaw from dropping. The lady giggled upon seeing Tessa, the same giggle that Tessa had followed the whole time.

"Who are you?" Tessa asked curiously.

The lady smiled at her. She had a pleasant smile, Tessa supposed. "I don't have a name. But, over the years, people have invented names for me that they found fitting," she said. Her voice sounded like fresh water running down a stream: pure and calm. "However, you can call me Hyacinth. That is what your mother used to call me."

"My mother?" Tessa resounded, clearly not expecting this response. "You knew my mother?"

"Darling, I know many people. But I could never forget your mother," she tilted her head towards Tessa. Tessa noticed that she had dark blue eyes, but not nearly as startling as Will's unusual hue. "You look like her," Hyacinth continued.

"What are you?" Tessa asked. She had never seen anyone like Hyacinth before.

"You mean you don't know?" Hyacinth looked almost amused. "My kind have walked this earth even before you mortals."

"Are you a faerie?" Tessa had heard stories of them before, but never laid eyes on one before. It seemed like a logical guess.

"You are a smart one," Hyacinth looked pleased. "But yes, I am a faerie. This land has suffered through tough times, and we have been in hiding, not wanting to risk being caught by anyone who wanted us for the wrong reasons." That made sense. Magical beings were hunted by various individuals, as they were rare and were similar to spoils of war.

"What is this place?" Tessa said, gesturing towards the waterfall.

"It's an enchanted waterfall," Hyacinth's blue eyes sparkled with delight. "It shows you your deepest desires." Hyacinth drifted towards the waterfall and Tessa went to stand next to her. Tessa glanced at her reflection. Compared to Hyacinth, she wasn't as beautiful. Tessa stared back at her reflection and saw that it began to morph. It first showed her father, then her mother, her aunt, and Nate. Finally, it changed to Will, and stayed there a little while longer. Tessa tore her eyes away from the water, feeling her cheeks beginning to redden. Hyacinth was staring down at her expectantly, asking a silent question.

"I saw my family," Tessa said lamely.

"Did you really?" Hyacinth said, although Tessa could tell that Hyacinth had seen the images that had popped up in front of Tessa.

"What more could I want from them? I know everything about them?" There wasn't much left of her family, except for Nate, who she didn't even want to think about anymore. Her parents had died tragically when she was three in a freak horse accident. Since then, she was raised by her Aunt Harriet, alongside Nate. Aunt Harriet had suddenly died after succumbing to a deadly fever and passed away within two days. Tessa had never felt so alone until Will stepped into her life.

"There is more to your family than you expect," Hyacinth's eyes twinkled.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out, in time. Now is not the time, though."

"Wait, you dragged me all this way to tell me this?" Tessa was disappointed, although she wanted to know what skeletons in the closet her family was guarding.

"If you hadn't seen me, then you wouldn't have known," Hyacinth shrugged elegantly. Tessa frowned. Just then, a scream resonated from deep within the forest. The yell was deeply manly, and Tessa knew immediately who it was. Will.

"Go," Hyacinth beckoned Tessa forward, "I told you all I could. Now, your man calls for you." Tessa knew what she meant by this, but without another look, she dashed off into the forest, in hopes to find Will.

It didn't take that long to find Will. In fact, he was in directly the opposite direction as Tessa, in a straight line past where they had made camp. That, and his yells were hard to miss.

There was a pond in the middle of the ground. Will had fallen to the ground, supporting himself by the palms of his hands and his feet, backing away. His sword lay scattered to the side. Something was approaching him, and he looked absolutely terrified. Ducks.

Tessa had to suppress the urge to laugh. Who could possibly be afraid of cute little creatures like ducks? _So much for being manly_, Tessa laughed to herself.

Tessa forgot she was still holding the sword she had taken from Wayfarer. She raised it up and approached the ducks, putting herself between the ducks and Will. The ducks glared at her menacingly with beady eyes.

"Shoo!" Tessa shouted, swinging the sword in front of her. The ducks did nothing, so she jabbed the sword in close range at them. Some of them flew away, while others dove back into the pond and swam away. "Go, or I shall make you into tasty, meat pies," Tessa said in a calm, but deadly voice. She heard Will laugh behind her, and felt instantly proud of herself. She was even happier when she saw the fear in the ducks' black eyes, as they squawked and fled from the side of the pond. "Now, be gone! And don't think of ever coming back."

When she was sure they were gone, Tessa turned to Will, who was eyeing her with awe. "Theresa Gray, has anyone ever told you that you are absolutely amazing?"

Tessa felt her stomach lurch in giddiness, but didn't dare show this. "Really? The great William Carstairs is scared of ducks? So much for being strong and all. And look who needed protecting in the end." She smirked at him, and guilt crossed his face, leaving Tessa with more satisfaction.

"It's a childhood fear. And don't you dare make fun of me." Now it was Tessa's turn to laugh. And she couldn't even control herself.

* * *

Will and Tessa had gathered their belongings and set off on the road once more. After the duck incident, Will had been more lenient with Tessa. He had even let her hold the scale, while he took charge of the map, leading her in the right direction.

They had rode for hours, although night hadn't quite descended upon them yet. They passed through more forests, the occasional village, and plenty of rivers. After what seemed like forever, a tall set of mountains rose in the horizon.

"Those are Ravenscar Mountains," Will announced, shouting on top of the wind that whipped past them. They were close. As they drew even closer, Tessa saw that there were at least ten mountain tops, all strewn together, at different heights. She glanced down at the scale, and it was pointing towards one of the shorter mountains, to the left.

"This way," Tessa motioned, and pulled Wayfarer in that direction.

Will and Tessa approached that mountain, and Tessa noticed that there was an opening. Beyond that, it was pitch black. They finally reached the entrance to the opening and stopped the horses. It seemed daunting and intimidating beyond the darkness, though they had to follow through. Just for reassurance, Tessa looked down at the scale on the palm of her hand.

The scale had stopped glowing. It was of no assistance now. They had finally reached the dragon's lair.

* * *

**So, I'm sorry for taking forever to update. And, I'm sorry for the not so exciting chapter. So, yeah.**

**Anyways, it took me so long because I was reading _The Fault in Our Stars_ by John Green. And holy crap! That was such a good read! It literally kept me up for two days. Of course, after finishing that came uncontrollable bawling. So this I guess was my therapy to that. **

**On a happier note, who saw that Sigourney Weaver might be cast as Inquisitor Herondale? I hope that comes true! And I can't wait to see more of the City of Ashes casting :)**

**So, review! Next chapter is the moment we've all been waiting for... THE DRAGON :D**


	17. Ithuriel

Will kept a firm grasp on Tessa's hand, while holding the sword in his other hand. Will navigated the way forward as the two of them just begun to step into the daunting cave. The sun was just beginning to descend, and was casting playful shadows of orange and red into the cave. Sooner or later, it would fully sent and Tessa and Will would be plunged into complete and utter darkness.

And it sure came sooner rather than later. They had barely made it into the cave when everything turned pitch black. To Tessa's surprise, Will was the first to yell out and Tessa had to stop herself from laughing aloud.

"Tess, I can't see!" Will exclaimed. "How are we supposed to defeat the damn dragon in the dark?"

Tessa rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of her traveling cloak, pulling out a stone that was cool to the touch. Tessa rubbed it and a bright light illuminated from it. Will's eyes widened in shock, making them look nearly an electric blue.

"What – what is that?" Will stammered.

Tessa grinned, pleased to know something that Will didn't. "It's a witchlight," Tessa explained, matter-of-factly, "Magnus gave it to me when I went off to find you. He said that it will help lead the way in the dark and will never lose its intensity."

"Hey, how come Magnus never gives me cool objects?" Will pouted, pulling a puppy dog look.

"You got the map! Not to mention the sword to," Tessa said, exasperated, throwing her hands off, casting light in all directions. "Besides, Magnus forgot to give you the witchlight, and I figured it would come in handy now."

She pushed past him and forced her way forward, Will following in her trail muttering something unintelligible about girls. They continued walking in silence, not wanting to reveal their path to the dragon yet, for what felt like hours before Tessa stopped dead in her tracks and a gasp escaped her mouth.

"Tess, what is it?" Will asked in alarm. Then he suddenly came to a dead stop next to her, registering what Tessa was so shocked about.

They had come across a slaughter. One that must have had occurred centuries ago. There were hundreds of bodies - no skeletons - strewn across the hard, stone ground. Some men had elaborate helmets, while others wielded shields or wore breastplates. Upon closer inspection, Tessa saw various designs carved onto the protective gear: herons, flames, lightning bolts, thorns, and wings. These must have been the warriors of the various kingdoms, the Herondales, Lightwoods, Starkweathers, Blackthorns, and Fairchilds respectively.

"Looks like we were not the only ones to venture out to this place," Will commented, grimacing at one particularly distorted body with an axe through the body and an arrow sticking out of its head.

Tessa peered more closely at the bodies. "Something seems off about all of them, Will," she said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

Will knelt down by another body that lay prone with the hilt of a sword jutting out of its back. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing what was in front of him. "You're right," he agreed, "the way these men died... there's no way that the dragon killed them in this manner."

"What do you think did?" Tessa worriedly whispered. "Do you think they killed each other? A feud of some sorts perhaps?"

Will shook his head. "I don't believe so. These families have nothing to fight over." He said this firmly, as if it held true as more than a statement. "They were ambushed. I think there are booby traps of some type."

"Booby traps? How could a single dragon set then up?"

"He probably had men do it for him. A petty job." Will shrugged. "Nevertheless, times have drastically changed and who knows what we have in store." There was a sort of thrill to Will's voice.

"Do you really want to get excited by something like that?" Tessa said dubiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Will said cheerily, grinning ear to ear. "We need something to spice up this boring trek into the hellish abode."

"Always the optimist," Tessa muttered to herself, then spun around on her heels, pressing forward and not daring to steal a glance at the bodies all around them, literally encircling them.

"See Tess, we're perfectly fine," Will said, still grinning though Tessa tried hard to ignore him. "No traps here."

"Will you just shut up and keep walking? The sooner we find the dragon, the better," Tessa snapped, though she didn't mean to be so harsh. She was just really focused on getting out of this area alive

"Tess, that hurts," Will feigned being physically hurt, slapping his hand over his chest and looking downcast. "I'm just trying to have a little fun," he added, throwing her a wink

"Will! There are ducks!" Tessa shouted in panic.

"Ducks! Where?" Will jumped and latched onto Tessa's arm, looking scared for his life.

Tessa burst out into a fit of laughter. "And you just said I didn't know how to have fun." She grinned.

"That wasn't funny!" Will exclaimed, though he joined in on her laughter. The continued along, laughing the full way. Tessa felt the tension ease off, and she didn't feel as nervous as before. The dead bodies began to disappear until they were no more. Now they were in a long, narrow stone passageway that only had space for both Will and Tessa to fit across. They kept on going when suddenly Will stumbled forward and Tessa caught him by the shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Tessa asked in concern, searching his face.

Will mumbled. "Yeah, I just tripped. I'm –"

Will was interrupted by a loud, rumbling noise, reverberating off in the distance. Will immediately stood up straight in full alert, scanning their surroundings.

"Will…" Tessa pointed behind him in horror. Will followed where she was pointing and his jaw dropped in astonishment. "I don't think that was any accidental stumble," Tessa said breathlessly and Will slowly nodded in agreement. Where Will had tripped was a thin rope, so thin that it could only be seen when Tessa placed the witchlight close to it.

"Run," Will breathed into her ear and yanked her by the arm. Tessa didn't even have to think twice as she bolted closely behind him, running as fast as her long legs could carry her.

The trembling in the background grew louder and louder. Tessa snuck a peak behind her shoulder and gasped. A giant brown boulder, that was perfectly circular and fit the width of the tunnel, was barreling at high speed towards them. And it seemed to have only one purpose: to pulverize them to the bones.

"Come on," Will pulled harder on Tessa's arm that she was scared it might get pulled out of its socket. He must have seen the boulder too, for he had quickened his pace, but let go of her arm. Will just kept on running without taking a glance around him. Tessa then stopped by a stone entryway that they had almost passed amidst the chaos.

"Tessa!" Will shouted in irritation.

"This way!" Tessa beckoned him to the opening, and he understood.

They ran inside and pressed their backs against the wall adjacent to the entry. Tessa held her breath and listened to the boulder rolling around, fading away into the distance. She counted to three before craning her head outside, to ensure the boulder was gone. It was, and the tunnel seemed to keep going as if it were never-ending. Tessa didn't want to know where it ended, if it even did.

She spun around to Will, who gathered her up in his arms. Will smoothed his hands along her back, as if trying to calm himself down.

"That was a close call," Tessa said in relief, her voice muffled by Will's shirt.

Will drew back, but left his hands on her shoulders. He looked at her, his blue eyes steady. "That sure was."

The witchlight had been doused during their pursuit, and Tessa hastily rubbed it. Once more, the bright light shot out of the stone and flooded into the room they were in. No, not a room. More like a huge hall.

"What is this place?" Will said, his voice in awe. They were standing in a room full of riches. The entryway descended down into stairs that led to the hall, in which the floor was covered in gold, silver, bronze, precious gems, anything and everything that people craved for fortune. Tessa's eyes widened; she had never envisioned so much wealth in one room, especially after barely scraping by after all these years. That wasn't what only caught her attention.

"Books!" Tessa shrieked in pure joy. Shelves lined the stone walls, packed and packed with thousands of books, more than Tessa ever dreamed of seeing in her lifetime. Will was watching her with amusement.

"What?" Tessa said, accusingly.

Will laughed, then shook his head. "Nothing. I just love watching you get all excited about books."

"It's not like you do the same," Tessa retorted, though she smiled at him.

"That's true," Will said, returning her smile.

Without another word, Tessa dashed down the stairs and ran towards the closest shelves. She examined the titles; there were some that she recognized and some in languages that she didn't even know existed. Alas, they were still books after all.

Tessa thought she heard a snarl, but brushed it off and continued looking at books. Will joined her, also eyeing the books with contentment.

"These are some of my favourites," Tessa said to no one in particular, gesturing to the particular shelf she was surveying.

"Mine too," Will said, and Tessa felt all giddy inside. So Will did share the same likes in books as she did. Tessa reached out towards the shelf when she unexpectedly felt warm.

"Tessa, watch out!" Will called out, but it was too late. Tessa was eye to eye with a great yellow eye. She could not even let out a scream when she felt a blast of cold air brushing her face and then her world abruptly froze.

* * *

"What the hell did you do to her?" Will yelled, though he didn't even know why. He was standing face to face with the dragon, his Herondale sword outstretched and tightly gripped in his right hand. This was the moment he was waiting for. He should be fearful of the dragon, but instead, he was angry at it.

As Tessa had reached out to the shelf, she had suddenly stopped, frozen in her tracks. Her arm was still outreached and she had a look of surprise across her pretty face. Other than that, she was completely immobile.

_Don't worry_ said a voice, although it was not aloud. It was in his head. Literally in his head. Will glanced up in amazement. The dragon was an arm's length away, although he wasn't looking at Will with contempt, but with curiosity, its amber eyes luminous. It was massive; much bigger than Will recalled when it attacked Blackfriars. Its stance wasn't as frightening as back then, for it was more friendly than anything.

"What do you want?" Will spat out.

_I won't harm her, if that's what you are wondering_, the dragon said into Will's mind. _She's just temporarily frozen in time for now, so she can't hear us or see us. She will return to normal, once we talk, William Herondale._

"Talk?" Will shouted in astonishment. He had ventured all these days preparing to slay the dragon, not to talk to it. Though he didn't want to kill it either. Killing was something that Will never intended on doing, but neither was talking to a dragon. "I came this entire way so I could talk to you, dragon?"

_You may call me Ithuriel_, it said, in a calm voice, _as that has been my name since the ancient times_.

"I don't care what I call you," Will snarled, "I'll kill you before you have a chance to talk." Will lunged forward with his sword, but it went flying out of his grip, though Will was holding it firmly.

_Please, I come in peace_, Ithuriel said, and he did sound truthful.

"Peace? Tell that to the innocent village that you nearly destroyed," Will accused, even more infuriated.

_I did not mean to inflict that much harm_, Ithuriel hooded his eyes, _I just needed to find you_.

_What was up with everyone trying to find me?_, Will thought to himself. That appeared to be the pattern so far with Magnus, then Ragnor, and now Ithuriel. "Why?" Will barked at the great, green dragon.

_You cannot turn away from your life in a blink of an eye, young William. All I was trying to do was lure you to me so I could speak of your destiny. The villagers attacked me, so I had no choice but to fight back. There were no casualties, am I correct?_

The dragon had an odd way of speaking, Will supposed, though he thought it was best to answer. There was something compelling about Ithuriel. "No, there weren't," Will finally said. "What about my destiny?"

Ithuriel huffed a puff of smoke, as if sighing in relief. _You are the son of Edmund Herondale, are you not?_

"Well, of course I am," Will snorted. Ithuriel had to know this if he said Will's full name. Will could only thank the Angel that Tessa was frozen at this moment; at least she hadn't heard this much.

_Edmund Herondale was a good man_, Ithuriel continued. Will stared at the dragon completely dumbfounded.

"My father was good man?" Will sputtered. "Tell me you're joking."

_He was. That was when he was a prince, prior to becoming the king. My race was dying out, as generations before had gone about ruthlessly exterminating dragons without a second thought. I was the last one that remained, and I still am. I am an ancient creature, young Herondale, and I am the last of my kind. Your father was aware of that, and he spoke out against his army in preventing them in killing me. As long as your father is still king, I will be safe. _

Why did this one dragon matter so much? "You aren't the only one left," Will said, "there are other dragons in the other kingdoms, aren't there?"

Ithuriel lifted it's head, _yes, there are, but I am the last of Idris and there will be never be another one. You are probably wondering why I am so important_. It was as if the dragon had spoken Will's exact thoughts. _I am the lifeline of the kingdom. Kill me, and the entire kingdom dies out. I know that Idris has been fading, but I have faith in you, Will Herondale. You have great potential to become the best king this place has ever had. You can protect me. And if you succeed, you can help Idris climb out of this impoverished state and flourish as it once did. _

"What if I don't want to be king?" Will said, crossing his arms in front of him.

_Things don't always play out the way you imagine,_ Ithuriel's eyes sparkled with amusement, as if he knew something Will did not.

Will frowned. "What about the people of Blackfriars? They're expecting me to kill you."

Ithuriel twisted his head towards his back, which were lined with sharp, emerald spikes. The dragon pulled out one of them with its mouth, wincing in pain. He brought his head back down, clenching the spike between its teeth, the scale dripping with blood.

_Take this, _he urged Will. Will reluctantly stepped forward and grasped the spike, which Ithuriel easily gave to him. _It is a spoil of war. Show it to the villagers and convince them that you slayed me. Only then, I can live in peace for the time being. They won't come after me again if you tell them I'm dead._

Will felt himself nod. "I can do that. What about you?"

_What about me?_ Ithuriel said this almost mockingly. _I'll be here. Now, I wish you luck, William Herondale. We shall meet again sometime in the future._ And with that, the dragon backed away into the darkness of the hall.

* * *

**I'm sorry if I disappointed you all with the dragon. I bet you were all expecting some big fight or something xD But yeah. Hey it's still a plot twist! It was like a twist of Hobbit and Merlin that inspired this haha. And the boulder thingy I got from Indiana Jones :D**

**So, I'm going to be out of town this weekend, so I may or may not be able to update. But fingers crossed I do!**

**I finally got the new JK Rowling book, _The Cuckoo's Calling_, and I'm so stoked to read it! Eek! *Hides in a corner to read* Gosh, it feels like all I do is read and watch TV/movies. I so need a life.**


	18. Homecoming

It had officially been two days since Will's encounter with the dragon. Just as Ithuriel promised, Tessa had been unfrozen and returned back to normal within a few minutes. They had then left the cave behind in eerie silence, being careful to avoid any more traps, to find Xanthos and Wayfarer greeting them by the entrance, and then set off on the return journey to Blackfriars. Tessa, to Will's surprise, had not asked a single question about the dragon and what had happened. She was always bursting with curiosity, but for the past two days, she had kept to herself and had been oddly quiet. So, she had absolutely no idea what had transpired between Will and the dragon. She had seen the Ithuriel's spike, however, but said nothing when she laid eyes on it. In a way, Will was thankful that she didn't prod him with never ending questions. Will still had to make up something to tell Tessa so his true identity would not be revealed to her.

They had taken an alternate route to the village. Tessa took jurisdiction over the map and found a new way to get back. Will allowed her to take control of the reigns and just lead them back to home. She said her reason for doing this was that they couldn't risk being caught by the Pandemonium Club a second time. Will could only agree to this. Plus, Magnus had shown them a longer route to the dragon, though Will had no idea why. Magnus must have had his own reasons, but all Will was focused on was getting back.

Night had begun to fall. It was their second day of riding, and Will hoped that they would arrive by the next day, at best. They navigated their way through the dense forest, coming to a rest next to a narrow, trickling stream. Tessa had immediately leapt off Wayfarer and was unpacking her belongings to create a makeshift bed. She made it, then dropped to the ground and appeared to fall instantly asleep.

Will chuckled to himself and begin removing some of his load from Xanthos, laying it on the floor next to Tessa. He wasn't quite ready to go to sleep. Surprisingly, all of this riding had left him even more wide awake than he would have expected.

Will silently opened up his pack and reached in, withdrawing the spike that Ithuriel had given him as evidence. Moonlight filtered through the thick branches and reflected off of the spike. Will took a closer look at it to see that it was quite large, two times the size of his hand, and was green with a brownish tint to it. On top of that, the base was splattered with blood, presumably when Ithuriel plucked it from his back. At least this would give more evidence to the villagers when Will had to tell them that he had "slayed" the dragon.

"What's that you're holding?" came a quiet voice to Will's side. Tessa. Will turned to face her. He had thought she had fallen asleep, but he had definitely thought wrong. Her gray eyes were wide and now full of questions. This was the Tessa that Will remembered.

"I thought you were sleeping," Will said lamely.

"I tried, but I couldn't go to sleep," Tessa shrugged. "Is that from the dragon?" she asked again, jerking her head towards the scale.

"Yes," Will said tightly. At least this much was true.

Tessa examined Will's face intensely, her gray eyes becoming stormier and darker by the second. "I'm not an idiot Will," she sighed, "I know the dragon is alive. In fact, I know that you did not even attempt to slay it."

Will raised his eyebrows, trying hard not to give in. "You can't be sure of that. Mind you, you are clever, but that can only get you so far."

She narrowed her eyes, fierce and unyielding. "Now tell me the truth. Am I clever, but wrong? Or am I clever and right?"

She was staring at him at such intensity that he could not force himself to lie. "You are clever," Will began, and a ghost of a smile traced over Tessa's mouth, "and you are right."

Tessa grinned, and Will felt his heart flutter with joy. She had no idea what effect she was having on him. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "So tell me, how did you do it? Didn't the dragon try and attack you? Why didn't you kill it?"

"Ah, there's the Tess I know," Will winked at her, "I was afraid that I had lost her back in Ithuriel's cave. You had been so quiet lately that it worried me, Tess."

"Just exhaustion from the trip, I guess," Tessa shrugged, "and you seemed distracted by whatever happened back there that I didn't want to bore you with questions. And, who is Ithuriel?"

Will didn't even notice that he had said the name aloud. "Oh, that's the dragon's name."

"The dragon has a name? Are you now best friends with the dragon?" Tessa laughed.

"Not friends, merely acquaintances," Will corrected.

"Like there's a difference," Tessa huffed with a roll of her eyes, "now tell me: what did happen?"

"Well," Will gulped, "after he had frozen you, I had raised my sword in preparation to attack. But then he spoke to me. Or I should say, he spoke to me in my mind. He told me that he meant no harm to Blackfriars and was only passing by when the began villagers attacked him. He was left with no choice, but to defend himself. He begged me not to kill him. He explained something along the lines that the kingdom is tied to his lifeline; kill him and the kingdom falls. And then he said that if I tell everyone I slayed him by showing them the spike, then he will leave us be." Will hoped he had sounded convincing. At least most of this was true, minus the involvement with him being a prince that vowed to protect Ithuriel and all.

Tessa looked at him steadily, then finally said, "that's all?"

"That is all," Will hoped that his face didn't betray the remaining truth, though Tessa seemed satisfied.

"I'm glad you finally told me, Will," she said, smiling up at him, "now, let's get some rest. We have a busy day ahead of us." She sunk back into her bed, and gently went back to sleep. Will stayed up, still in shock that she had handled this so easily. Eventually, sleep came to find him too.

* * *

Will and Tessa woke up the next morning before the sun had even risen into the sky. They departed without another word and began the ride towards Blackfriars. Tessa seemed to be more free and open since Will had revealed most of the truth last night, and Will was beginning to feel a lot better. He hated having to hide secrets like this. Of course, there was the fact that he was the prince, but she didn't need to know.

They had arrived upon Blackfriars a little past noon all in one piece. Henry had been fixing one of the buildings that had been destroyed by Ithuriel, his bright red hair glittering in the sunlight.

"Tessa! Will! You're back!" he shouted with joy. "I'll go get the others," he said, then ran off into the village to go gather the others.

Will and Tessa dismounted their horses and began walking towards the stables. Passersby noticed the two of them and were pointing and whispering things amongst each other. Tessa and Will ignored them and headed straight into the stables, depositing Xanthos and Wayfarer in their and gathering their belongings.

"I wonder what they were talking about," Tessa said to Will.

"Who knows," Will said indifferently, "probably something about how handsome I am."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Our presence wouldn't go unnoticed. I mean you were sent on the quest, and everyone probably eagerly wants to know if you slayed the dragon."

Will took Tessa's hand and grasped it, not wanting to let go. "Let's get this over with, Tess." He marched outside, hand in hand with Tessa, to be greeted by Henry leading Charlotte, de Quincey, Camille, and Magnus, along with practically everyone else from the village. Magnus winked at Will when he saw him.

"Theresa Gray," de Quincey said coldly, "I don't recall you having permission to go along on this quest."

Tessa matched his stare with one of her own. "I didn't," she said, her voice deadly calm, "but if I didn't come along, then Will would not have been able to slay the dragon."

The tone of Tessa's voice appeared to shut de Quincey up on this matter, so his gaze slid lazily to Will. "So you killed it. I applaud you." There was no life in his voice, however.

"Yes, I did," Will said cheerily. He rummaged around in his knapsack and unveiled the spike. There were a few gasps in the crowd. "A spoil for proof, sir," Will announced. De Quincey's black eyes enlarged at the sight of the scale.

"Very good," de Quincey said, mildly impressed, "I wasn't expecting you to kill it. In fact, I was anticipating that you would run back here within a couple days."

"Your faith in me flatters me," Will said dryly.

De Quincey ignored this. "I commend you, William Carstairs. And you too, Theresa Gray, even though you were not meant for this quest."

"At least your village is safe," Will countered.

De Quincey nodded. "True, true. As tradition, we must honour this success with a celebration."

"A celebration?" Will echoed. Everyone else also were confused, but thrilled at the same time.

"Of course," de Quincey said as if that explained it all, "two nights from today in the town hall." He turned to the villagers, and instructed them, saying, "I need all of you to help with preparations." There were murmurs among the crowd. "Well what are you waiting for? Get to it." Everyone agreed and scattered about, de Quincey throwing out commands to all of them. Will turned to Tessa, and together, the two of them went back to Tessa's home.

* * *

Tessa was eager to get to back to work at The Sensor. Not that she wanted to be away from Will. Over the past week or so that they had been together, she had thoroughly enjoyed being in his company. She had never felt such a connection to another person before, until she met Will. She might even… no. Tessa couldn't allow herself to get carried away.

"So how was it?" Sophie asked, her brown eyes looking at Tessa expectantly. They were back in The Sensor, and Tessa had insisted to work despite arriving back this very day, much to Charlotte and Henry's chagrin. They were both busy in the back, scrubbing dishes vigorously.

"How was what?" Tessa said.

"The dragon?" Sophie said as if that meant it all.

Tessa shrugged. Though, she had barely even faced the dragon, and never gave much thought about how to fib her way through if people asked her. This was her chance. "Big, and green. Not as scary as when he first came here, but scary enough."

"Did Will kill it easily?"

"Without a sweat." Tessa had no idea where to go from there.

"How could you endure him for so long?" Sophie said, looking nearly intimidated.

"He's not that bad," Tessa defended, feeling a spark of anger.

"Says the girl that hated his guts in the beginning," Sophie muttered under her breath.

"That was a long time ago," Tessa explained, "besides, things have changed. I feel that I really know Will. And under that hard armour, he is a person. A real person who is breathing and living to his fullest extent. He's kind-hearted, brave, strong, and full of life. Plus, he reads the same books as me. I've never met anyone like him." Tessa sighed heavily.

"Oooh it seems like you're in love with William Carstairs," Sophie grinned teasingly.

"I am not!" Tessa exclaimed, though her voice shot up two octaves higher than the norm, furiously blushing.

"Are too!" Sophie grinned even wider, "go look at yourself in the mirror and say you are. Otherwise, you are in total denial."

Tessa rolled her eyes and turned her back to Sophie. She was certainly in denial.

* * *

"You didn't kill the dragon," Magnus said sternly.

Will threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "By the Angel! You are the second person to guess that. At this rate, de Quincey will discover the truth sooner or later." The two of them were in Magnus's shop and were closely studying the scale. Magnus had taken great interest in it.

"Let me guess. Tessa knows?" Will nodded, and Magnus continued, "I didn't guess, William," Magnus threw him a look with his unusual cat eyes, "I know."

"You? Know? What? How?" Will was struck speechless.

"Rendered William Herondale, check that off my list of accomplishments," Magnus grinned. "Will, believe me, I knew this from the beginning."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Will said in irritation. Now he has to find out the truth of the situation.

"I couldn't let you know before," Magnus said. "Where's the fun in that? Dragons are ancient creatures, William. Older than sorcerers like myself. We both do share special talents in magic. I had a feeling that there was no random reason why the dragon happened to attack Blackfriars while you resided here. Ithuriel wanted to speak to you, and I was the one who led you to him."

Everything clicked. No wonder the journey was smooth. For the most part.

"And the Pandemonium Club? Did you have some part in that?" Will said, raising an eyebrow in suspicioun.

"Oh, Angel no," Magnus shook his head, "I did have a feeling they would come sooner or later. That's why I sent Ragnor after you both. He told me what occurred to Tessa. No worries, Will. He locked up Nate and his cronies in a high security jail, so they can't get out. And it involves magic." Magnus's eyes twinkled.

"Oh, good," Will sighed in relief. At least Nate wouldn't bother them for the time being.

"You know, you and Tessa are getting along really well."

"Tessa?"

"I knew that would get your attention," laughed Magnus. "And just for your information, I didn't send her. She came to me, saying she wanted to come with you. And you know Tessa, always stubborn and fixed on something when she wants it. I thought it would be good if someone kept an eye on you. And, you left some things behind."

"I didn't leave things behind. Someone neglected to give them to me."

"Okay, maybe I did," Magnus said. "Nevertheless, it pulled you two closer together." Will felt his cheeks redden, which made Magnus laugh even more. "Looks like William Herondale got it bad for a girl. And not any girl. Our very own Tessa Gray."

Will knew there was no point in arguing with Magnus. "What should I do now, Magnus?"

"Well, you've come to the right man," Magnus beamed, "I specialize in romantic endeavors."

* * *

**Yeah, this chapter is sorta rushed and jumps around a bunch. But I didn't want to keep stretching this out lol. And I was able to update before I left on my trip for this weekend :D Even though it's like 7 in the morning xD**

**Review! Cuz next chapter is Jem and Cecily!**


	19. Discovered

Jem was in the stables, doing his typical evening chores as he did every day of every month of every year. He had been working as a servant for the Herondales for as long as he could remember. At first, he was more of a play mate for Will, much because of his illness he had contracted when he was young and the king and queen did not want to put that much of a burden on him. But, as he had grown older, his role as a servant had become more pronounced. He wasn't complaining though. And he always had Will to keep him company.

Except for now.

Life at the Institute had grown increasingly lonely. Sure, Cecily was there to keep him company, but there was only so much of her that he could handle. As moody as Will was, Cecily was fully of energy and was constantly bouncing off the walls. She was fun, Jem supposed, though nowhere near the company of Will.

Cecily and Jem had devised a list of plans to tell the Herondale parents once Will had left. Jem did think that Will was going a bit over the edge with this escape, but he could hardly blame Will for feeling so confined for seventeen years. Jem would support Will no matter what. He was almost like a brother to Jem after all.

In the end, it was Cecily's grand idea to say that Will had fallen sick with a terrible sickness. Jem was extremely dubious of this; of course, who would be? It would only be a matter of time before the king and queen discovered the truth. And once they did… Jem shuddered at the thought of that.

He had to admit it, but Jem was pretty impressed with Cecily. She claimed that she had come up with ridiculous lies to keep her parents away from Will's bedroom. Though, she wouldn't tell Jem what exactly she had told them. Whatever she was saying, it was keeping King Edmund and Queen Linette as far away as possible from the truth, and Jem was thankful of that. They had no suspicion of what happened to Will whatsoever, other than the fact that he was "gravely ill".

Jem scrubbed hard on the walls of the stable, trying to scrape away remnants that remained. Suddenly the stable doors burst open and something came charging through. No, it was a great, black horse. And it was rapidly galloping towards him. Balios.

Jem quietly swore under his breath and rushed over to the great, big horse. And great big was truly an understatement. Balios was a massive horse, bigger than all the rest at the Institute. Jem had no idea why Will enjoyed riding him so much; Jem would have been scared to death to even ride the great beast.

Balios leapt up on his hind legs, swinging his front legs forward. Jem mustered up all the courage he could gather and reached for the reins, gaining a tight grip on them. He lowered Balios to the ground and stroked his head, muttering softly to calm the horse down.

"It's alright Balios," Jem cooed. "You're safe here." Jem looked into Balios's eyes and automatically knew something was wrong. The horse had never looked so frightened and fearful. Something bad had happened. And Balios was all alone without his rider.

Will.

Jem quickly marched Balios to his appropriate spot in the stables and tight the reins to a post. He shut the gate and headed back to the castle, determined to find the one person who he could talk to.

* * *

"You said what!?" Cecily exclaimed.

"Shhh!" Jem hushed her, keeping his voice low, "we can't let anyone hear us." They were walking down the stone corridor alone, their footsteps quietly echoing off the walls. Jem had caught Cecily leaving her room. However, one glance at his face, and she knew that the matter at hand was urgent. Cecily said she needed to get somewhere, but they could walk and talk. And that was exactly what they were doing.

"Sorry," Cecily whispered to Jem, shooting him an apologetic look. "It's just – I can't even believe it. So what you're saying is that Balios returned but without Will?"

"Yes," Jem said, feeling drastically tired. He had already recounted what had happened twice to Cecily and did not want to say it again. "I was in the stables when Balios suddenly burst in, looking terrified. I knew that something was wrong."

Cecily's eyes widened in horror. They were the exact same midnight blue as Will's. "Oh, by the Angel, what do you think could have happened to our Will? He could be out there, alone and cold in the wilderness. Worse yet, those horrible creatures could have found him. And the Angel knows what they would even do with him. Or what if he's dead?"

"Cecily, relax." Jem placed a slender hand on her shoulder, easing her to relax and slow down her breathing. "Will is not dead. I would have known if he was dead. I would have felt it, here." Jem gestured to his chest, where his heart beat steadily beneath it.

"Are you sure?" Cecily raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Positive," Jem said, smiling down at her. "Will and I have this invisible thread that binds us together. If something absolutely terrible would have happened, I would have known."

"Do you think we should inform my parents?" Cecily asked.

"Oh, Angel no," Jem said, horrified, "its bad enough that Will is gone. Now that we don't know where he is and how he's doing, it would be wise if we just kept this too ourselves."

"But how come you didn't know before?" Cecily pressed on. She did have a valid point. "I mean, only now we discovered that he and Balios were separated. Who knows what has happened to him since."

Jem shook his head. "I don't know. But we're bound to find out. Right, Cecily?"

Cecily had fallen a few paces behind him. Jem turned around to see that Cecily wasn't paying attention to him, and that she probably didn't even hear what Jem was saying. She was angled away towards him, facing towards the side. Jem spun around and stepped towards her.

"Cecy?" Jem asked, apprehension creeping up in his voice.

Cecily turned to him and raised a slim finger to her lips, indicating to be quiet. Then she pointed at what was in front of her and then everything clicked. They were standing before the throne room, the voices of Edmund and Linette slipping out from the crack between the great wooden doors. Jem and Cecily tiptoed towards the doors, positioning themselves on either side of them, being careful not to lean against them. The voices inside grew louder as they approached.

"Gone! What do you mean he's gone?" King Edmund's booming voice resonated in the room.

"It is as I said, my dear," Linette said in a steady voice, trying to ground her husband. "I went into William's room to check on him and he wasn't there. In fact, there was no sign of him inhabiting the room for a while. It's like he just vanished."

"How is that even possible?" Edmund's voice rose, getting angrier by the second. "There is no way the boy could have left the premises of the castle."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the wedding?" Linette said quietly, sounding fearful. "It is only a mere four weeks away."

Edmund shook his head, denying what his wife had just spoken. "Absolutely not. She is a fine choice for our William. And he knows that our kingdom's best interests are in mind, and Jessamine was the perfect fit."

"You are right," Linette sighed resignedly.

"Send for him," Jem heard Edmund say to the side, presumably to a servant inside. A door creaked open in the throne room and footsteps padded away. Who "him" was, Jem had no clue. He would find out sooner or later.

"What about Cecily?" Edmund perked up. Cecily snuck a glance at Jem, who caught it before she turned away from him. She appeared completely terrified, not knowing what to expect from her parents. Jem could hardly blame her. At this rate, they were bound to find out the truth. Jem and Cecily had worked so hard in keeping Will's disappearance a secret and to make it seem like he had never left. Now, the cracks in that fine armour were beginning to break and they were going to be exposed.

"What about our daughter?" Linette inquired.

"She's been the one informing us on Will's status," Edmund continued. Jem could have sworn that he was stroking his chin in deep thought. "In fact, she was the one who told us that he was ill and was saying all sorts of explanations of what was wrong with him and why we couldn't see that. It makes sense."

"It does," Linette said, starting to catch on. "I just can't believe that our daughter would be involved in such a scheme. Will was happy here. Wasn't he?"

"I don't want to believe it," Edmund said sternly, "and we are going to have a serious talk with Cecily once this is all figured out, but that we'll have to do later." Cecily shot Jem a meek smile, seemingly relieved for the time being. "Our top priority is Will at the moment," Edmund went on, "we have to find him as soon as possible." As if on cue, Jem heard the doors on the other side open up and footsteps enter the room.

"I brought him, as you requested," said the servant.

"Axel Mortmain," bellowed Edmund. Jem felt his heart skip a beat and anger flood through him. Jem utterly detested Mortmain. And so did Will. Mortmain was the Grand Master, a sort of leader for the knights of Idris. In a way, he was like King Edmund's right-hand man. He was responsible for also protecting the kingdom and warding away any evils. And that was exactly why Jem and Will hated him. Mortmain never helped the kingdom, and in fact did quite the opposite. He was one of the primary reasons that Idris was dying, and he was doing nothing to remedy the situation. Not to mention his cold, rude, crass personality. He was disrespectful to everyone and only seemed to care about himself. King Edmund, unfortunately, saw right through this and revered Mortmain to the core. No wonder Will was constantly furious with his father.

"You called for me, your highness," Mortmain said in a sinister, crackly tone.

Edmund, as usual, did not detect this. "Yes, I did."

"How shall I be of service?" Mortmain asked.

"My lovely wife Linette has just found that our son, William, is missing. It appears that he has been gone for a very long time. With the wedding only weeks away, we cannot afford this. I would like you and your men to go out and find our son. You shall do whatever it takes, but please, bring him home safely."

"Very well, sire," Mortmain said. Jem sensed that he was grinning, despite the request. Of course Mortmain would find some sort of thrill in this. "When do you reckon I should leave?"

"As soon as possible," Edmund announced, "although, I think it would be wise if we kept this a secret between you and me. We do not want to rouse up the kingdom about William's disappearance right before he gets married. It would look very bad on both our parts."

"As you wish, sire," Mortmain said, "I shall depart right after I gather my men." There was a swish of the cloaks, and Jem heard Mortmain leave.

Suddenly, someone was grabbing his wrist behind him. Jem spun to see Cecily grasping his wrist. "Come with me," she whispered to him, then pulled him away from the doors. She broke out into a run, once they were away from the throne room, Jem right next to her. She navigated them through the winding passages, descending down beneath the castle. Jem instantly knew where she was taking him: the servant quarters.

Cecily came to a halt in front of Jem's door and pushed it open. Jem, unlike the other servants, had his own room because of his duty to Will. And also because Will requested it, though Edmund agreed reluctantly. She shoved Jem in and slammed the door.

"We have to go find Will," Cecily said without any further explanation.

"And you thought we weren't?" Jem laughed.

"James! This is no time for jokes!" Cecily threw her hands up dramatically in exasperation.

"I'm being serious Cecy. This was exactly what I had in mind."

"Oh," she said in a small voice.

"And there is no way I will allow you to go," Jem continued, "after what your parents said. We can't risk any more Herondales sneaking off.

Cecily opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, thinking the better of it. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest. "You're right," she said stubbornly, then sighed, "I guess I have to keep my parents occupied."

Jem nodded. "We can't allow Mortmain to find Will. Mortmain is an awful person and who knows what he'll do to Will."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Cecily said, plopping down on Jem's bed, "if he harms my brother in any way, my father will just see past it and praise Mortmain for what he did. I hate it."

"Don't worry Cecy," Jem said kindly, then picked up a pack in his room and begun piling whatever stuff he needed for his trip into it. "I will find your brother. And I will leave immediately. I just need to stay one step ahead of Mortmain."

Cecily gave him a smile. "Good luck, Jem. Come home safely with my brother." She raised her hand up, before saying, "ave atque vale."

Jem nodded at Cecily and slung his pack over his shoulder, leaving his room and the Institute to find his lost brother.

* * *

**There you have it! Jem and Cecily as promised. So now Jem is off to find Will. But will he find him on time? And what about Tessa?**

**On a side note, who heard the news about the new casting for the Twelfth Doctor? I'm not sure how I feel yet, but I'm sure he'll be good. I'm just so sad that Matt Smith is leaving :( **

**Anyways, review! I've got some exciting stuff planned for the next chapter :D**


	20. The First

It was dark by the time that Tessa left The Sensor. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, hoping to conceal her features. It was nearly nine, and Blackfriars was a safe village, but Tessa didn't want to take any risks, especially after what happened at Cadair Idris.

The Sensor had been bursting with life for the past two days. There were more customers than what Tessa was used to, and Tessa felt overwhelmed with the amount of work she had to put in. At least Charlotte and Henry were going to raise her pay for the time being. Tessa could care less, now that she didn't have Nathaniel to worry about. Tessa hoped that she would never have to see her terrible cousin again. She would never forgive him.

News spread fast about the quest. Tessa had heard numerous travellers buzzing about the quest that a girl and boy went on to kill a dragon and save Blackfriars. Of course, no one knew who the boy and the girl truly were. Tessa felt herself blushing quite a few times at the mention of the girl, but nobody suspected that it was her. For once, she was thankful of de Quincey. At least he didn't publicize who went on the quest, and Tessa liked it that way. Or it could have be Magnus and his magic. Nonetheless, she was grateful that her cover hadn't been revealed.

Tessa walked hurriedly down the one lane road. It had been one day since she and Will had returned from their journey, and life had instantly resumed to the normal, mundane life that Tessa had before. Well, maybe not that boring since Will had stepped in. She had conflicting feelings about Will. On one hand, he was stubborn and could make her feel infuriated. On the other hand, she had never met someone who shared her passion for books and someone who connected with her on many levels.

And now he was ignoring her. Yes, completely ignoring her. Tessa had no idea why, but it was driving her crazy. Ever since they had arrived in Blackfriars, he had been keeping his distance from her and would not even acknowledge her presence. On top of that, all the girls in the village were fawning over him. Will was extremely good looking, and now that he "slayed" the dragon, there was no denying that he was the centre of attention and that everyone wanted him for his valiance and bravery. Or that's what he probably thought of himself. Of course, no one knew the truth behind what really happened. And Tessa wanted it to remain that way. People didn't need to know the truth.

Tessa slowed her pace as she neared her home. In truth, she was avoiding Will. After the way he had distanced himself from her, she was trying to reciprocate that. So far, she had been successful with the one day that they had. It was past dinnertime; surely he would be retiring to bed. Tessa had been using Nate's room during the night, and had tried her best to shake the bad jibes she got from him when she was in there.

At last, she had reached her home. Taking a deep breath, Tessa shoved the door forward. To her surprise, it was unlocked. And what lay in front of her made her jaw drop.

It was her home, but not her home. The kitchen and dining room had been completely transformed. The entire area had been completely cleaned, not a speck of dirt in sight. Candles were spaced out throughout the room, literally floating in thin air. The candles had no normal colour, though; they shifted from blue to green to purple to nearly every spectrum in the colour scheme. The crumbling wooden table where Tessa typically ate solo meals was covered with a crisp, white sheet in addition to a vase with a singular beautiful red rose in it; the two seats with plush looking maroon cushions on top of them. A faint aura filled the room, pleasantly smelling distinctly of roses and lilies. And standing near the middle of the room next to the table was Will.

"Like what you see, Tess?" Will grinned at her. He was dressed impeccably in a clean white shirtfront and neat black trousers, devoid of any wrinkles. Tessa immediately felt underdressed in her plain blue dress that she usually wore to work. It wasn't even a pretty blue. And her hair most likely looked like a rat's dress, not to mention how tired she appeared after a hard day's work.

"I – I'm not even dressed for the occasion," Tessa stuttered.

Will stepped towards her in a few strides with his long legs until they were face to face. He tipped her chin up gently with a slim finger, until she was looking straight into his dark blue eyes. Gorgeous eyes that were filled entirely with longing and desire. Almost instantaneously, all that coldness and remoteness that Tessa thought was between them faded. It was replaced with lightness and warmth and left Tessa feeling practically giddy.

"You look beautiful, Tess," Will said with adoration, "no matter what."

Tessa peered over Will's shoulder at the room. "What's all this for?"

"Come," he said simply, holding her hand in his and lacing his fingers with hers. He guided her towards the table and released her hand, only to pull out the chair. He kindly motioned her to the chair, and Tessa sat down obligingly, giving him a small smile. Will shuffled around the table and sat down opposite her. There were plates and silverware lain across the table, a set for each of them.

"What's all this for?" Tessa asked again, determined to get an answer out of Will.

"You hungry?" Will said instead.

"Um, yes," Tessa said, startled. Of course she was. It was past nine. She glanced down at her plate to see that it was suddenly filled with food. There was baked meat with exotic spices, most likely veal or boar, an expensive looking bread roll, and plenty of ripe greens. And it smelled absolutely delicious, like nothing Tessa had ever had before. Although, Tessa wondered how it had appeared so quickly. She looked up to see Will smiling at her, trying to suppress his amusement.

"How did – ah," then it all clicked. "Magnus." That explained everything. The floating candles, how the food appeared, the expensive meal.

"And the lady finally catches on," Will flashed her a grin and Tessa felt her cheeks warm. "Of course, it was my idea entirely. Magnus just helped." He winked at her, and Tessa reddened even more. "Shall we begin?"

Tessa eagerly bit into the roll and felt the grains melt into her mouth. Before she knew it, she had finished the roll and had moved onto the vegetables, which were even more delectable. She glanced up to see that Will was also engrossed in his food, not talking at all for once.

"Why?" Tessa inquired.

Will jerked up, staring at her. "Why, what?"

"All this," Tessa said, gesturing to the elaborate set up, "I thought after the trip that you grew tired of me." Will didn't look convinced. "That maybe you didn't want to see me anymore," Tessa added in a low voice, hoping he didn't heart that. But of course he did.

"Tessa!" Will exclaimed. "Don't say those things. I could never feel that way about you."

"Then why did you keep avoiding me? Why were you acting like I didn't exist for the past day?" Tessa let it all slip out before she could stop herself. "Because I - ," Will started, then stopped himself.

"Well?" Tessa pushed on. "Why did you completely ignore me? And what was up with all those girls? Your new fan club or something. Because I wouldn't be surprised if you moved on." Tessa could barely control herself and she cursed at her stupidity. She hated sounding so petty and so jealous, especially in front of Will. Tessa Gray would not have down that a couple months ago. But that Tessa Gray was very different from the one that had met Will Carstairs.

"Moved on?" Will sounded appalled. "I wanted to do something special for you, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise," Will went. "I didn't want to give anything away."

"Well, you could have done it better without leaving me completely in the dark," Tessa retorted. She knew she shouldn't be so hard on him, but she couldn't help herself. The least Will could have done was still show some amount of friendliness towards her.

"I suppose," Will said with a hint of sarcasm. "You should at least be grateful for what I did for you."

"Grateful? For what you did for me?" Tessa scoffed. "Like I've done nothing for you."

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, avoiding her eye contact. "At least eat the rest of the food," Will said with great tiredness.

"I'm done," Tessa said abruptly and stood up, nearly knocking her chair over. She stalked off to her room and slammed the door. She quickly changed out of her work clothes and shimmied into her nightgown. She slid down onto her bed and willed the tears from coming out. She would not cry for some stupid reason. She knew that she should not have exploded at Will like that; he had done so much for her, and she had not even thanked him for it. Tessa felt guilty all over and wished she could shake it off. Not to mention the humiliation that would follow.

The door opened, and only then did Tessa realise that her room was currently being occupied by not herself. Will came in with tentative steps, as if he was unsure if he should approach Tessa. Tessa stood up from her bed and smoothed her skirts, walking to Will until there was

"I'm sorry," Tessa heard herself say in a meek voice.  
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Will cocked his head at her.

"I said I'm sorry," Tessa said firmly, "I had no reason to shout at you that way and I don't even know why I did that. No words can express how ashamed I feel right now. I should have appreciated all that you did. And I do. Not only for the dinner, but everything before that." Will's eyes widened in shock. This is definitely not what he expected to hear from her, and Tessa carried on, "what I'm trying to say is, thank you. For everything, Will. You have shone a new light on life and have made me open my eyes to what truly lies before us. If you did not enter my life, I do not know what I would have done."

"You mean it?" Will finally said, arching his eyebrows.

"I do," Tessa said sincerely, smiling. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to sleep. It's late." Tessa made her move to head back to Nate's room when Will grasped her arm, gently pulling her so they were facing each other.

"We're not finished, Tess," Will said, not unkindly.

"What?" Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but Will put a finger to her lips to silence her. Just a simple touch sent tiny bursts of pleasure coursing through her body.

"You apologised, and I must do the same," Will said, "I should not have treated you that way, and I'm sorry. I thought it was in best interest from keeping this a secret, but it was a disaster. And I have learned my lesson. Also, I'm sorry for what happened from the beginning. I guess we got off on the wrong foot." Will shrugged, and Tessa had nearly forgotten all that. "You're the one thanking me, but really it should be me thanking you. You took me in as your guest and never once abandoned me. Even when you sent me out, you came back to find me. You stayed by my side throughout the entire quest. You have offered me the best protection that I could ever ask for, and thank you." He released his hand and Tessa smiled up at him, which he warmly returned.

"Can I go now?" Tessa said, and she had no idea why she had even said this. She loved being this close to Will and wished the moment would never end.

Will shook his head. "One more thing. About those girls, they may be all over me, but all I see are a bunch of crazed girls who do not truly know me. And there's only one girl I wish to woo."

Tessa felt her heart begin to beat uncontrollably faster. "Who?" she asked breathlessly.

"I think we both know the answer to that," Will said, and before Tessa could respond, he made a sound of resignation and swooped down and met his mouth with hers.

Tessa immediately froze. She was kissing. And not just anyone. She was kissing Will, the boy who made her feel alive and cared for. She had never kissed anyone before, and yet here she was. Will forced his mouth against her, willing her to respond while wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Tessa responded, pressing her lips against his with equal pressure. Will groaned a sigh of relief and continued kissing her. Tessa twined her arms around his shoulders, tangling her hands in his silky locks.

Will was the first to break away. He looked down at Tessa with absolute desire, breathing hard, his full lips slightly swollen from the kisses. He was breathtakingly beautiful. "I love you," Will said. Tessa froze again. She had certainly not expected him to say that, and yet she felt the same.

"I love you too," Tessa said, amazed with herself. Will's expression was pure joy, and Tessa pressed her lips once again to Will's. He pulled her to him again and walked them backwards, landing softly on the bed, Tessa on top of him. He began trailing kisses around her face and down her neck. Tessa felt her hands go under his shirt, feeling the smooth, hard muscles beneath it.

"May I?" Tessa said between kisses. Will vigorously nodded and shucked off his shirt. His body was unlike anyone else's, almost like a statue, not a servant boy. Tessa could care less. Will's hands reached to her shoulder, pulling the dress to the side. Tessa nodded for him to remove the nightdress, leaving her in the underdress with thin straps. No one had ever seen her like this before. Will looked at her with desire again before resuming their kissing. And for once, Tessa was in ultimate bliss.

* * *

**And there it finally is! The big moment that everyone has been waiting for :D Yeah, so the arguing and all may have been OOC, but I thought it would be more dramatic. Yay they finally did it!**

**On another note, foolishmundanes and I are co-writing this story together now. She already wrote about it on her story The New Girl, but I thought I thought I should just put it here. Anyways, it's called Beautiful Horrors and is about TLH, modeled after The Midnight Heir. So go check it out! We have the prologue up, and we're working on the first chapter right now.**

**Thanks for the support again! Review! Favourite! Follow! You guys are the best :D**


	21. Found

Will woke up groggily to grayness. More specifically, to beautiful, wide gray eyes looking straight at him with all the adoration in the world. She seemed to be staring at him before he awoke. Tessa smiled up at Will, and Will felt his heart soar. He had never felt anything like this before. And yet, this simple girl was able to do it without even trying.

Sunlight was beginning to creep through the singular window in Tessa's room. To be honest, the night before was a blur. A very blissful and peaceful blur. All Will could remember was Tessa's lips under his and her body in close proximity to his. He didn't even recall ever falling asleep. He looked down at Tessa to see her head was resting on his bare shoulder and his arm was wrapped protectively around her.

"Good morning, Tess," Will said gently, rubbing her back.

"Good morning Will," Tessa replied, snuggling closer to him.

"Wait," Will said, tightening his grip on her in realization. Normally, Tessa was up before the sun rose. But today… "Shouldn't you be getting ready for work?"

Tessa laughed playfully. It was music to his ears. "Oh Will! Didn't you get the message yesterday?" Will scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, and Tessa went on, "de Quincey announced that no one has to work today. He wants people to help him prepare for your little celebration."

"Celebration?" Will asked, and then he mentally slapped himself. He completely forgot about this and was in no mood to go. All he wanted was to be with Tessa with no one to disturb them. "It was just a dragon which I didn't even kill."

"Shhh," Tessa said, then tenderly placed a finger to his lips. Will nearly melted to her touch. "No one needs to know the truth except you and me."

"And Magnus," Will said automatically.

"You told Magnus?" Tessa said, but there was no betrayal in her voice. She almost sounded please.

"More like he figured it out, as always," Will grinned.

"Of course Magnus would," Tessa laughed. "Well, it's best if we keep this among the three of us." Will could only agree to this. "And besides, we have to go to the celebration. They are expecting you after all."

"Why aren't you helping them?"

"Charlotte and Henry gave me the day off. Since I was part of your quest, I don't have to assist them. I guess it's de Quincey's way of acknowledging that I was there with you." Tessa shrugged. "But I have better plans for today," Tessa continued. "There's something I want to show you." She beamed at him, and Will felt giddy all over again. He loved that feeling.

"What is it?" Will said in curiosity.

"It's a surprise," Tessa winked at him.

"Hmmm Tessa Gray is all mysterious now? My, my I must have really done something to change that in her." Will smirked.

"Will!" Tessa exclaimed, then threw her pillow playfully at his face. She got up and stretched her arms out. "I'll go get ready. Meet me by the front door in five minutes." Before leaving, she gave him a kiss on his cheek then exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Will placed his fingers to his cheek and absorbed the spot where the pressure of her lips still lingered, smiling to himself.

Will clambered out of bed and checked the time. It was nearly nine in the morning, and yet he wasn't hungry at all. He was still wearing his trousers from last night, which were slightly crinkled. He sauntered over to the chest at the foot of the bed and opened it; since working with Magnus, he had accumulated enough money to go to the tailor and buy clothes for himself and the chest was now filled with these. His wardrobe was limited to white shirts and black trousers. Those suited him the best.

Will emerged from Tessa's room, wearing what he had exactly planned, a white shirt and black pants with black boots. Tessa, as promised, was waiting for him by the front door. She had on a simple gray dress that made her eyes look more blue than stormy gray. Her dark brown hair was done into a neat bun, a few tendrils escaping loose and framing her perfect face. She smiled at him when he approached.

"Shall we go?" Tessa asked, indicating towards the door and beginning to turn towards it.

"Wait," Will commanded, and caught her lightly by the arm, spinning her to face him. Her lips parted in surprise and Will was instantly driven by instincts. Without thinking twice, he crushed his mouth to hers and once again they were kissing. It wasn't fierce and desperate like the night before, but more smooth and gentle and slow. She moaned and entwined her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her while he slid his hands on her waist. He finally broke away, though it was painful. They were both breathing heavily.

Will had kissed many girls before. More than he could even count. He was the prince of Idris after all, and with his looks and status, there was bound to be a slew of girls behind him. Of course, he could barely remember any of these kisses or even the names of the girls. He could hardly care less. No one compared to Tessa and he had never gone as far as he had with her. She was different from all the others. She made him feel alive.

"We must exercise self control in public," Tessa giggled shakily.

"Why, of course, my dear Tess," Will said and then took her hand, leading them out of the house.

Blackfriars was unusually quiet for this time. Will deduced that it was probably because all the villagers were prepping for the gathering this coming night. Tessa led the way, guiding Will to wherever his surprise was waiting. She was nearing the end of the village when she stopped short in front of a small, wooden building with a thatched roof. She reached into her breastpocket of her dress and produced a brass key. She slid it into the keyhole and twisted the matching brass knob, opening the door.

"Come," Tessa said and grasped Will's hand, escorting him inside and closing the door. Will sucked in a breath when he saw what lay in front of him.

They were in a bookshop. It was a small room, but was filled with plenty of bookshelves with stacks of books. There was even enough space for two, comfy armchairs. The place was well lighted with windows spaced alongside the wall. It smelled of musty paper and old leather. Will knew he was at home.

"I know the shopkeeper," Tessa said, answering Will's unanswered question. "He knew how much I loved reading, for I was his most frequent customer. So, he gave me the key so I could use it in my leisure." Will was shocked that he had never noticed the place before. He was happy that Tessa was the one to show him, though, for no one matched his passion for books as she did.

Will walked over to the nearest shelf and perused the titles. He knew each and every one of them. "These are some of my favourites," he mused.

Tessa came up behind him, and said, "mine too." She put her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder. Will took a deep breath, absorbing her intoxicating scent of lavender.

"How do you like this place?" Tessa asked. Will turned to see her fully.

"Like? I love it, Tess," Will spoke the truth. "It's absolutely amazing. Much better than the library back in the Institute."

"There's a library there?" Tessa said, appalled, her large gray eyes growing bigger.

"Of course there is," Will said, astonished that Tessa didn't know. "Every royal family has one in their castle in each kingdom."

"I never would have guessed," Tessa said, bending her head down low. "The royals never struck me as the types of people who read. Come to think of it, I never thought they did much."

"You're right about that," Will said. There was no denying the truth, but he continued before he could stop himself, "But, William Herondale was quite the reader in the family. Most of the collection in the Institute consisted of his books. And you would be surprised to know that he shared the same interests in books as you and I, Tess." Will could no longer take those words back. He had to make Tessa love him; the real him.

"Was he really?" Tessa narrowed her eyes, sounding not at all interested. "I could care less about him."

"He's really not that bad, Tess."

"Oh is that so? I guess I would have to see that myself," she said bitterly. Oh, the irony. "And I suppose that King Edmund is a saint, then?"

Will laughed bitterly. "Hell no. He's as awful as everyone says he is."

"I don't want to talk about the Herondales anymore," Tessa spat out. She said the name _Herondale_ as if it was a curse. Will supposed that was true. His family had did nothing to support the kingdom, and it was no wonder that all the people of Idris hated his parents. "Read to me, Will."

Will glanced down at the books. "What would you like me to read?"

"You choose."

Will randomly pulled a book out of the shelf and made his way to the armchairs, throwing himself down in one of them. Tessa came and sat in the one next to him, looking up at him expectantly. Will opened the book and began reading. Every once and a while, he would sneak a peak at Tessa to see her watching him carefully, her chin propped on her hand. She was fully engrossed in Will and what he was reading, her eyes filled with adulation. He kept reading for what felt like hours. When Will was nearly halfway through the book, he looked up to see that Tessa was asleep. Will leaned over and gradually shook her.

Tessa's eyelids fluttered open. "Will?"

"You fell asleep, Tess."

"Did I really? I hardly noticed. I enjoyed listening to you read so much."

Will's heart fluttered at this. Then, his stomach grumbled. He looked up at the clock on the wall to see that it was nearly four in the afternoon. Had they really been in the shop for that long? "Are you hungry?" Tessa nodded meekly. "Come, let's go get you something to eat." _And me, too_, Will thought to himself.

They made their way outside and Tessa locked the door. Since all the businesses were closed, they decided to fix themselves a small meal back at Tessa's house. As they walked, Will saw a horse nearing the village. As it came closer, the horse slowed down to a trot. But that wasn't what caught Will's attention. It was black and huge; no other horse matched that size. There was only one horse like that: Balios. And on top of the horse was a lone rider. A person Will would recognize anywhere.

The rider was Jem.

* * *

Will swore that he was dreaming. Though was it a dream? Just minutes ago he was in a cozy bookshop reading aloud to Tessa. And now? Now Jem was a mere few feet from him. So no. This was not a dream. This was real life.

"James!" Will shouted and he broke out into a run, darting towards his long lost brother. Jem must have seen him, for a look of relief crossed his face and he beamed at Will.

"Will," Jem said, jumping off of Balios and steadying the horse. Will came up to Jem and embraced him. Jem seemed taken aback by this, but then reciprocated the motion, patting Will on the back.

"How did you find me?" Will asked, and completely meant it.

"I didn't find you," Jem grinned, "you bumped into me." And then he added, "I missed you, William. More than you could ever imagine."

"I missed you more," Will said back, "there's no denying that."

"There's no point in arguing with you, Will," Jem laughed, "you always win."

Will flashed a grin at Jem. He had almost forgotten how much Jem had meant to him. Almost. He could never forget Jem. Never.

"Will?" a voice said from behind him. Tessa. In all the excitement, he briefly forgot that she was with him. "Who's this?"

Will racked his brain trying to find excuses for who Jem was. "This is my cousin." Jem threw Will a look of confusion, his silvery eyebrows raised delicately. "His name is James Carstairs."

"Jem," Jem corrected and held out his hand to Tessa. "A pleasure to meet you, miss…"

"Theresa Gray," Tessa said, taking his hand and shaking it. "But please, call me Tessa."

An awkward silence fell upon the three of them. Tessa must have been wondering why Jem and Will were so close, despite being "cousins". She had once thought that her cousin meant everything to her, but look what turned out with Nate. And Jem and Will weren't really cousins. Will just needed an excuse for the time being, and this was the most plausible.

"I'll leave you two alone," Tessa said after some time. "I have some things to attend to at home." She stalked off towards her house, her shoulders starting to slouch. Will felt a pang of sadness through him, but he promised himself that he would comfort Tessa later. She at least understood that there was something between Jem and Will that she shouldn't be a part of.

"She seems like she's a nice girl," Jem said, watching Tessa as she walked away.

"She's better than you expected," Will said. "Now come. Let's take Balios to the stables."

They walked side by side towards the stables. "So how have you been, Will?" Jem said amiably.

Will said he was fine and recounted everything that happened to Jem. He told him about how he stumbled into Blackfriars, the Sensor, how he left and was found again, Magnus, the quest, and the upcoming celebration. He even told Jem about what really happened with the dragon. Will trusted Jem with his life, and he had to know this important piece of information. Jem listened attentively as Will explained this all, not speaking a word.

"You are happy here," Jem finally spoke. He said this as more of a statement than an opinion.

"I am."

"And Tessa?" Will was taken aback, and his face began to redden. "I thought so," Jem said, smiling crookedly.

"Now I have a question, James," Will said, desperately changing the subject.

"Go ahead, William."

"Why are you here?" Will bit back his words, realizing they sounded harsh. "I mean to say, shouldn't you be in the Institute with Cecily? Something tells me that something went wrong."

"You would know," Jem said, hinting at the bond that always connected them. "And yes, something is wrong." Jem quickly described how Will's parents discovered him missing and ordered the knight Axel Mortmain to hunt Will down and bring him home. Will was terrified at the idea of that.

"That bastard!" Will shouted. "I hate him! I hate my parents! I hate everything!" Why did everything have to be ruined? Things were going so well. He had finally found a place in Blackfriars and no longer was an outcast. And his relationship with Tessa and blossomed so well. Now, everything was going to be ruined.

"That's why I came here," Jem pressed on, "I had to warn you before he showed up."

"Well, you did," Will said rather bluntly.

"Yes, and I'm going to bring you home. As soon as time permits."

* * *

**Eh, not the best place to end this chapter, but oh well. But Jem is finally reunited with Will! And Jem met Tessa!**

**Moving on. GUYZ WE REACHED 200 REVIEWS! This seriously made my life :D And instead of a virtual cookie, you all get a virtual slice of cake. Choose whatever flavour you want :) Oh gosh that sounds so cheesy... But, I do have a big surprise waiting for everyone in the next chapter!**

**Anyways, foolishmundanes already posted this on the last chapter of The New Girl, but I'll just reiterate it here. First chapter of _Beautiful Horrors_ is up, so go read it!**

**Okayyy so it's like 2 in the morning and I'm ready to crash. Peace out!**


	22. Disaster Strikes

The town hall was buzzing with life. When de Quincey said that he needed everyone in Blackfriar's assistance, he really did mean it. Rows upon rows of tables lined the single room of the town hall. There were foods on nearly all the tables: meats with exotic spices, roasted vegetables, stews, and all kinds of desserts that you could imagine. Candles were floating around the room, warming up the place. The fire in the hearth was glowing an array of brilliant colours from red to green to blue to purple. Magnus's work. There was even a giant dragon. Not a real dragon undoubtedly, but a fake one that must have taken a lot of people to build. There was no way that a couple people could have put all of these decorations and food together.

In the centre of the room was a large empty space. In it, people were dancing about and enjoying themselves. Nearly everyone was there and was having loads of fun. Well, that was everyone except for one.

William Herondale was standing off to the side, back against the hard stone wall and arms crossed across his strong chest. His expression wore a visible scowl. Will should have been happy. If his heart were up to it, he really would be having the time of his life. But he couldn't.

In his mind, he kept replaying the conversation he had with Jem in the stables. Jem was not there with him at the moment; he was on the dance floor with Tessa, and both of them were laughing and having a good time. Tessa and Jem immediately became friends when Will brought him back to Tessa's home. Jem had that sort of personality, unlike Will. He was kind, thoughtful, loyal, funny, and made everyone feel cared for. They had spent time in Tessa's place, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Will was amazed how well Jem and Tessa got along; it had taken Will a much longer time to build a steady relationship with her. He wasn't jealous though. He had other things on his mind. Other things meaning his conversation with Jem.

He was glad to have Jem back. Actually, he was ecstatic. Before coming to Blackfriars, Jem meant the world to Will, apart from Cecily. Upon his arrival, Jem reassured Will that Cecily was fine since Edmund and Linette were too preoccupied with Will's disappearance. Jem, however, had no idea what excuse Cecily made up to cover up for Will's escape, so he had no idea. That wasn't what was bothering Will though.

It was the plan that Jem had proposed. Soon after depositing Balios in the stables, Jem had told Will that he needed to go back home to the Institute. Will thought they would take their time to return, but Jem was adamant that it had to be done as soon as possible. They could not afford to dawdle with time, especially with Mortmain on their trail. Will hated that knight as much as Cecily and Jem did and could not bare to think what would happen if Mortmain found him. They would arrive at the castle and fib a tale of how Will had never really disappeared and was there all along. So Will completely understood why Jem was in a hurry to leave. They had agreed (Will reluctantly so) that they would depart right after the celebration without further notice. It was better if no one knew. And it meant that Tessa had to be kept in the dark.

Tessa. That one name caused so much hope and hurt at the same time. Before, Will felt a burst of happiness and a feeling unlike any before. Now, he felt sadness and nearly guilt. Tessa still did not know who Will truly was, and he was about to leave her without revealing all his secrets to her. He knew all her secrets, but she barely knew his. Will thought this was entirely unfair, but it was best for them both. He couldn't just bare the thought that he would probably not see her after the night. He couldn't even look at her now without feeling pain course through his body. It was best if things were just left this way for the time being.

Will sighed and pushed away from the wall, walking in the opposite direction towards the door at the far end of the room. He forced it open and closed the door, sealing the gap between himself and the festivities. He breathed in the pure, cold night air. All he wanted to be was to be alone.

* * *

Tessa was having a wonderful time. She had danced many rounds with Magnus and other men of the village. And the most with Jem. Jem was absolutely delightful and nothing like Will. While Will was all black and blue, Jem had an ethereal silvery glow to him. Will was daring, reckless, and bold, whereas Jem was kind, gentle, and caring. It was hard to believe that they were even related, along with the dissimilar physical appearances. Tessa almost envied them; after what happened with Nate, she could hardly believe that cousins could act this way with each other. She wished she had a normal cousin with whom she could share a strong bond with the way Will and Jem did.

Will had been unusually quiet after returning to her home with Jem. Something must have happened between them, Tessa thought at first. But then, she had seen how his face lit up when he was talking with Jem, like Jem meant everything to him. Tessa brushed away her initial thought, but there was still something off about Will. She was determined to find out.

Tessa really wanted to dance a set with Will. She had been yearning for it the entire night, but he stood back in the shadows thinking that no one could see him although he was the only person Tessa could see. After a while, she saw him get up and stalk towards the exit, leaving the town hall. Tessa figured that this would be the best chance to go after him. She dismissed herself from Jem and went off to follow Will.

The night wind was a shock to what Tessa was wearing. She had put on her nicest dress for the night, a delicate magenta dress that belled out in volumes around her and had beautiful roses intertwined on it. She shivered as she made her way around town hall. There was a small lake behind the building, and for once it was nice and serene, the moonlight reflecting off the surface of the lake. And in front of the lake was Will.

He was dressed impeccably, in straight black pants and a crisp white shirt. Jem had worn the same clothes, although somehow it looked better on Will. His hands were stuffed in his trouser pockets and he was standing near the lake, his back stiff and facing away from Tessa. Tessa glided along the grass towards the Will and stopped short once she was an arm's length away from him. She reached out to touch him, but pulled back, thinking better of it.

"Will?" she called out softly. Will stiffened even more at the sound of her voice. It nearly frightened Tessa, how standoffish he was being. It was so unlike Will, but Tessa cursed herself of being terrified. She loved Will.

"Go away, Tess," Will said, not turning to look at her. Tessa felt a stab of pain go through her.

"Go away?" Tessa demanded before she could stop the words from flowing out. "Do you really hate me that much?"

Will jerked and turned around, an expression of surprise across his face. At least that somewhat reassured her and his feelings for her were true. But that still didn't explain why he was not talking to her. Or anyone besides Jem for that matter. "Hate you? I could never hate you, Tess."

So Tessa's new instincts were right and she felt a little better, but still incomplete. "Then why, Will? Why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not ignoring you. I just need some time to myself."

"Something happened Will, and you cannot hide this from me. You know I will find out sooner or later, but I hope it is sooner. You cannot keep running from the truth like this Will."

Will took a deep breath. "Everything has been a lie."

"What?" Tessa said, startled. This was definitely not what she was anticipating him to say.

"I feel that I have been living my whole life as a lie. I don't know what how to separate the truth from reality. It is nearly impossible and is killing me Tess."

"You're scaring me Will," Tessa said, her voice shaking.

"You have to understand, Tess. I never intended for things to be this way. This is not the life I would have wanted, to always be hiding in the shadows and watching the world go by, oblivious to the true nature of things. And I'm ready to disappear. But you must know, of all the lies I've lived, there is a truth."

"What do you mean?"

"The truth is you, Tessa." He turned to her, his eyes bluer than blue and his expression softening to hope, desire, and love. "I love you Tessa. I love you so much more than you would imagine. And you must believe me."

"I – of course I believe you. But, Will – "

Before Tessa could say anymore, Will had crushed his mouth against her, almost to forcibly that it hurt. In no time, Tessa was drowning in the kiss and felt familiar and comfortable with Will. But he couldn't shake off his troubles by kissing all the time. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"No," she said sharply.

"No?" Will said in surprise, hurt and confusion written all over his face. His shoulders slouched back in disappointment, and Tessa felt bad. But she had to reason with him.

"No," she repeated. "I need an explanation. You can't solve every problem this way, Will. You have to tell me what's wrong. You can't keep running away from everything like this."

"I can't tell you," Will said, turning his face away, the shadows hiding his expression.

Tessa placed a hand on his cheek, turning his face back around. "Why not?"

"I just… things are complicated," Will said. He seemed to be waging a mental war with himself, with no clear winner coming out. "It's just… is it better if I tell you tomorrow?"

This was better than nothing. "Alright then, Will."

Will stepped forward and gently planted a kiss on her temple, making Tessa feel all tingly inside. "Do you believe me when I say I love you?" Will reiterated, clearly wanting a definite answer.

"Of course I do," Tessa said, but before she could continue, shouts and screams erupted from behind them. Tessa and Will spun around to find that they were coming from the town hall. Panic flooded through Tessa and Will yanked her hand, running back to the town hall. As they approached, Tessa saw that there were a group of horses that were completely unfamiliar to her. They were clad in armour, as if they were royal horses. The Herondale crest was emblazoned on the side of the armour, and Tessa's suspicions began to arise, but she did not want to press her brain on further. What were the knights of the Herondales doing here?

They burst into the town hall, hand in hand. Will's touch was comforting to Tessa, as opposed to the tension in the room. All the partygoers were forced against one wall and were looking absolutely fearful. The knights were facing them, holding the whole lot at sword's point. There was one particular knight, who was shorter and stockier than the others with graying eyes and startling green eyes, who had advanced on them. Tessa automatically presumed that he was the leader of the knights. She and Will walked over to join the others in the side. Their presence had gone unnoticed, and Tessa hoped it would be kept that way.

"Where is he?" bellowed the leader of the knights.

"We already told you," de Quincey said calmly, although Tessa heard the fear in the voice, "we are hiding no one in our town. Now please, let us be."

"My sources say that you are hiding someone from us. It's king's orders that we find him," the knight went on, looking at de Quincey with pure menace.

Tessa tensed and looked at Will, who was wore an unreadable expression. Could he be the one that they were looking for? No. It wasn't possible. He was just a servant in the Herondale household.

"Don't play games with me," the knight spat out venomously, "if you don't tell us the truth, then we will do something horrible to your village that you'll regret that you never told. So go ahead. Speak the truth. We will find him, and – ." The knight broke off and his eyes fell on Will. "And there he is."

The knight pointed straight at Will. Tessa sucked in a deep breath, not knowing how Will would react. To her surprise, Will still held his indifference and stepped forward towards the knight.

"You found me," Will said, his voice eerily calm. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"What are we going to do?" the knight scoffed. "We are going to bring you right back to the castle, where you belong, William Herondale."

Herondale. It all made sense. He was never a Carstairs. He was a Herondale. The truth that she couldn't believe – she never wanted to believe – but had to.

Tessa suddenly grew cold.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN.**

**I think I'll leave it at that.**


	23. The Truth As We Know It

Tessa's entire world was frozen over. She couldn't see, she couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. She could barely even comprehend the scene that was unfurling before her.

Will. Will was not a Carstairs at all. He lied to her. He betrayed her trust in him. All along he was a Herondale and he knew it. And not just any Herondale. He was Prince William Herondale. And to think of what Tessa had done with him. She disgusted herself, and Will probably thought of her as lowly and beneath himself, especially with his stature.

Tessa hung back in the crowd and forced the tears that were threatening to spill out down. She could not cry in front of all these other people. She looked around at the villagers and they appeared nearly as shocked as she did, although not as horrified as she was.

"Come along," barked the knight at Will, snapping Tessa back into focus. Although, she couldn't focus. Her eyes were becoming blurry and only then did she notice that tears were beginning to fill her vision. "We can't wait all day for you, boy. You are in a serious lot of trouble." He grabbed Will forcefully by the arm that it looked like it could have jumped out of its socket, and marched Will towards the door. Will held his head down low, not bearing to take a glance at anyone. Tessa could barely even look at him without feeling a swell of emotions in her: hurt, longing, betrayal, and sadness.

"You're lucky we spared your village," the knight shouted, turning back and giving everyone a menacing glare, "if this boy dares to leave again, consider yourselves unlucky." And with that, the knight exited the building with Will. As they left, Will looked over his shoulder, scanning the crowd for presumably Tessa. Tessa caught his glance, but quickly turned away, not wanting to see him any longer. However, there was a flicker of emotion in his eyes, something she couldn't quite put a finger on. Regret? Hurt? Anguish? No it couldn't be none of that. But then why did turning away from him seem like such a bad idea?

* * *

Will felt numb. He could barely process what had happened back at the town hall. He just remembered Mortmain zeroing in on him and Will felt compelled to go to the knight. He knew it was not the smartest thing to do, but Mortmain was on his tail anyway, so there was no denying that. But this was definitely how Will was planning on blowing his cover. Come to think of it, he was not going to reveal himself at all. Well, not so soon.

That wasn't what bothered him. Tessa. Just thinking of her made his heart clench in hurt and sadness. The look on her face was nearly unbearable. He had hidden the truth from her for so long and she had given her heart to him without knowing who he truly was. Will horribly regretted not telling Tessa who he really was, but he could never find the opportune moment. _In time_, he kept persuading himself. Well, that certainly did not turn out well. And for her to find out this way… it was humiliating. Not only did he betray her, but he also betrayed the trust of the entire village of Blackfriars. Will had never felt so guilty in his entire seventeen years of life.

Mortmain had them all on horseback, Will included. Apparently Mortmain had brought a spare along, and that was instantly designated to Will. They were on the ride back to the Insitute and Mortmain had not even taken a break to rest. On top of that, he hadn't spoken a single word to Will, not even after leaving the town hall. Will deduced that most of the yelling and shouting was saved for his father.

Will couldn't even wrap his head around what was going to happen once he returned to the Institute. His parents would be furious and they would most likely deem him an embarrassment to the kingdom, running away right after finding out he was betrothed to Jessamine Lovelace. But the Lovelace girl was the least of his worries. What of Cecily? She had to face their parents' wrath, so what would happen to her? And what of Jem? Will left him behind in Blackfriars, and only hoped that Jem would find a life for himself now. Would he return back to the Institute? And Tessa. She probably hated Will more than he hated himself. Now that Will was thinking, he damaged more people than he intended too. He was right all along. He was poison to everyone. He should have realised it when Ella died, and he did. But after arriving in Blackfriars, he thought his curse had faded, disappeared into thin air. Nonetheless, he was wrong and he truly was cursed to hurt all of those that he loved. His freedom proved to be a big failure.

So in the end, was running away truly a good idea?

* * *

Tessa did not even know how she made it back home, but somehow she did. After Will departed, everyone in the town hall broke out into shouts, trying to postulate how they didn't know who Will was. De Quincey and Camille were trying to settle everyone down, while Magnus stood awkwardly to the side. And Magnus never appeared to be awkward. It confused Tessa.

After a while, Tessa couldn't deal with all the shouting and she was back home. Alone. For the first time in over a month, there was nobody. Nate was locked away in some jail cell who knows where and Will was on the way back to his castle.

Tessa sat at her wooden table. It was still set up in the same manner from the night before from her date with Will. It was hard to believe that was just yesterday and now so much had changed. She had given herself entirely to him and thought she was completely in love with him. And the night she spent with him… his hands in her hair, his lips on hers. Did she really do that with the prince of Idris? He was the prince, and he it was highly likely that he had done the same stuff with many girls, and probably even more. She was just a toy to him and it meant nothing to him.

No Tessa. No. She needed to stop thinking of him. Now. It was not healthy for her. Thinking of him just made matters worse.

The door opened and Tessa craned her head to see who it was. It hit her that she hadn't even bothered to lock the door. She was just too caught up in the sea of emotions. Jem stepped in. Tessa was surprised that he found the house so easily, but then the figure behind him explained it all. Magnus Bane stood beside him, looking at Tessa sympathetically.

"And I suppose you both knew all along?" Tessa said in a monotone voice. All of her emotions had literally been sucked out of her.

"Tessa…" Magnus started.

"What?" Tessa said sharply, not wanting to meet their gazes. "Magnus, I trusted you this entire time. And you knew the truth the entire time. Why didn't you tell me?" Tessa felt the tears coming out, but she willed them to cease, not wanting to cry in front of Magnus and Jem.

"Tessa, you must understand, we did this for you. Knowing the truth would hurt," Magnus said gently, coming to sit in the seat in front of her.

"Well look how that turned out," Tessa said. "I've found out the truth and now what? I can go back to my mundane life. Oh wait, I can't, now that I know that this boy that had been a guest at my household was actually a runaway prince. He lied to me Magnus."

"He was trying to protect you," Magnus argued. "To hide you from his identity."

"Yeah, well look how that turned out."

"Tessa," this time it wasn't Magnus who spoke. It was Jem. Somehow, she felt compelled to look at him. His silvery gaze was so intense that Tessa nearly turned away. But she couldn't; she was pulled to look right at him. "I know it may be hard for you to listen to Magnus, but you must believe me. I know Will better than anyone else, probably even better than myself. And in this short time that I have met you, I can tell that you mean the world to Will. I have never seen him so happy, so relaxed, so at home with anyone. I thought that was with me, but it is with _you_, Tessa. You must understand that, like Magnus said, Will was protecting you. It hurts more, yes, but now that you know it, there is no turning back. I saw the way you look at Will, and you definitely feel the same for him. You fell in love with the real Will. Not the prince that he is, or should I say he doesn't want to be. You know him for what he truly is."

Tessa was struck speechless. "I – I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing, if you must," Jem said, giving her a small smile.

"You said that Will didn't want to be a prince," Tessa said slowly, mulling over this.

"Yes," Jem said, "he ran away from the Institute because he yearned for freedom. He always envied my position in the royal household."

"Wait, so is your last name truly Carstairs?" Jem nodded, and Tessa went on, "so you are a servant?" Jem nodded once again, and then Tessa understood. Will had posed himself as a servant as if he was Jem. She told this to Jem.

Jem shrugged. "I figured that out when he introduced us to each other. It seemed the most logical way to cover up who he really was. But you know, there was another reason why he escaped."

"There was?"

"He didn't want to marry Jessamine Lovelace. He didn't believe in loveless marriages and hated the fact that he was forced into something he never wanted. So he ran away. And he found what real love is. He needs you, Tessa."

Tessa put her head in her hands. So Will really loved her after all. Or, was Jem just saying this? No, from the little that Tessa became acquainted with Jem, she knew he was genuine and would never lie. "What ever should I do?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Go after him of course!" Magnus exclaimed, beaming at her. "Go parade yourself and declare your love in a grand gesture. Show him what he means to you."

"I prefer to be more modest, Magnus," Tessa chuckled.

"What do you say, Tessa darling?" Magnus inquired.

"I don't know how to get there," Tessa said lamely.

"I can show you," Jem said, "I have one of the Institute's horses with me and I can take the both of us back."

"Or you can always use my wonderful magic," Magnus winked.

"Very well," Tessa said. "When do we leave?"

* * *

**This is sort of anticlimactic after the last chapter. I'm not happy with this, so sorry if it disappoints. But hey, at least Tessa is going after Will. That counts for something.**

**So, who saw the pictures for the TMI premiere? It looks so good! I can't believe that the movie is only a week away! IT BETTER COME FAST.**


	24. Come Together

He had finally made it. After nearly a month of not being at home, he had reached.

And Will was not even the least bit happy.

They arrived at the moat, where Mortmain marched the horses along and the gate immediately closed behind them. Will figured that his parents must have been taking extra precautions to ensure that their precious prince wouldn't escape again. Will stopped short to watch the gate being pulled down.

"Come along," Mortmain sneered, "you're parents have been waiting long enough, boy."

Will pushed the horse forward and Mortmain led him to the stables. It was weird not seeing Jem there; the stables were one of his most favourite places in the Institute. Once the horses were tethered and given fresh food and water, Mortmain led Will into the castle. Will was surrounded by the rest of the knights to barricade any means of escapes from Will. Like Will would be able to run away with all eyes on him.

Mortmain suddenly stopped in front of two great, wooden doors. Will automatically knew where he was, and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst of it. Mortmain pushed the doors open and entered the throne room. The knights marched to the front of the room and stood in perfect position between the two chairs, leaving Will behind in their wake in the centre of the room. And in those chairs were King Edmund and Queen Linette.

When they laid their eyes upon Will, there was a flash of relief in them. But it was very brief, for it soon turned to anger.

"William," Edmund said, his voice eerily calm, "how good of you to join us. How are you feeling?"

"Better now, father," Will said in a remote voice that seemed miles away.

"Hm, I see," Edmund said, not looking entirely convinced. "And has that fever of yours gone down?"

"Yes, I feel as good as new."

"So would you care to explain to me why you left? Or was it the fever?" The way Edmund said the word "fever" was as if they were sharing some sort of inside joke.

"I – "

"Don't bother William," Edmund said with a wave of his hand, his voice rising higher and higher in volume, "your mother and I already know everything."

"Everything?" Will gulped.

"Everything," Edmund restated, a dangerous glint to his light blue eyes. "Cecily told us."

"She what?" Will yelled. Cecily would never tell them… unless they forced her to. "What did you do to Cecy?" Will said firmly.

"Don't worry, you're sister is fine, William," Linette said kindly. Though it seemed very forced.

"Yes William," Edmund agreed, "you're sister had her fair share of the blame. Now tell me, did anyone else help you escape?"

_Jem_, Will thought, but he could never reveal this about his brother. What would happen to Jem? As it was, Will had already hurt everyone he loved, and he could afford to damage the situation any further. So instead he said, "no one."

"You lie," Edmund snarled. "Tell me. Or else, you will have to suffer the consequences."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Will retorted. "What more could you do, father?"

"Send you to your room. And keep you in there until you're ready to speak logically."

Will opened his mouth to protest, but the guards were already on him. They pulled at Will's arms and dragged him away from the throne room, leading him straight to his own room.

* * *

Jem rode with Tessa for what felt like hours, and what probably was really hours. Within no time, they had packed up and left Tessa's house. Jem mounted Balios, while Tessa took one of the horses in the stable, Wayfarer. She told Jem that this horse was very dear to her. Jem wondered why, but didn't bother to ask.

They rode along the single road that connected Blackfriars to the Institute. Jem was surprised that he had never heard of this village before; he had extensive knowledge on anything and everything about Idris. Blackfriars had done a very impressive job on keeping itself hidden from the Herondales. Though, from the little that he gathered from there, they very much hated the royal family. Jem understood that feeling towards Edmund and Linette, but certainly not Will. Everyone probably just assumed Will was like his parents, which was quite the opposite in reality.

They kept on continuing forward, not wanting to waste any more time than what was already loss. Jem snuck a sideways peak at Tessa. In the moonlight, her face was very pale and her eyes looked more silver than gray. Her dark brown hair was tied hurriedly in the back of her head, a few loose strands flying behind her. She truly was beautiful and Jem could see what Will saw in her; there was an amount of innocence and vulnerability in her that no other girl possessed. If she were not Will's, Jem would have definitely formed an attachment to her and would have pursued her further. However, she was Will's and Will's was hers, and Jem had no business in that matter. The most he could do was help his brother. He just wanted Will to be happy. Jem would find someone for himself.

Up above, the moon was beginning to fade and the dawn was just coming. They were lucky that they hadn't met anyone across their journey. Jem had arrived in Blackfriars in less than a day, and at the pace that he and Tessa were going, they were bound to reach the Institute in better time.

Sure enough, up ahead, dark spires rose. They climbed up the hill and at the top, they stopped the horses. Balios and Wayfarer must have been utterly exhausted.

"There it is," Jem pointed straight ahead as Tessa came up next to him. She sucked in a breath.

"It's magnificent," she said, gazing up at the castle. It truly was; grand, elegant, made entirely of stone. No wonder all other kingdoms envied the Institute. It was big enough to even fit all the citizens of the land. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Have you ever ventured outside of Blackfriars?" Jem asked curiously.

"Only once," Tessa sighed. "I never had the time to venture outside of the village."

"Don't worry Tessa. Once this is all settled out, you can have all the freedom that you want."

Tessa looked at him wistfully and her gray eyes held depths of wonder. "Let's go," she said gently, moving straight along. Jem followed after her way.

They made their way towards the castle, slowing the horses down to a trot. As they approached the drawbridge and the moat, Jem saw that there were figures circling around the perimeter of the castle. He swore under his breath.

"What is it?" Tessa asked in alarm.

"The guards," Jem indicated towards the figure. "They must be on extra security after Will escaped. Damn, this is harder than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Tessa raised an eyebrow.

"I knew that they would be careful, but not put so much effort into securing the area. King Edmund really does not have his best interests in mind."

"So what do we do?"

Jem thought. "I know. There is another way into the castle, but it's not as smooth. However, you most likely will not get caught."

"Most likely?" Tessa said, her eyes widening in horror.

"Don't worry," Jem laughed. "Your chances of getting caught are nearly zero. That better?"

Tessa nodded. "Anything is better than being caught by those goons."

Jem smiled. "Come along." To Tessa's surprise, Jem led her in the opposite direction away from the castle.

"Why are we going here?" typical Tessa. Never stops asking questions.

"You'll see," Jem chuckled. Once they were in the darkness of the forest, Jem leapt off Balios, Tessa doing the same to Wayfarer. Jem took Balios's reigns and tied them to a sturdy branch in the woods. He assisted Tessa's with Wayfarer, wordlessly.

"It's best that they don't see us coming," Jem answered Tessa's unanswered question.

"Won't they have seen us before?" Tessa asked.

"They're a bit dim-witted. I highly doubt that we were in range for them to see us, especially in the darkness."

"You're probably right," Tessa said, though she sounded unconvinced.

Jem gestured for her to follow him. "Keep to the shadows," he instructed, "we need to blend in with our surroundings if we want to make it in safely." Jem was instantly thankful that they were both wearing dark clothing.

They broke out into a half run, half walk, staying the shadows of where the trees and the castle merged. Their presence went unnoticed as they neared the moat. When they reached the moat, Jem started descending down. He turned around and saw Tessa at the top, staring down at him dubiously.

"Come," Jem held out a hand for her.

"But isn't there anything down there? It looks awfully deep," Tessa said in a small voice.

Jem laughed shakily. "Tessa, there's nothing down here. Just dirt, no water. Everyone thinks there is water filled with creatures, but that's just a myth. It's why this is a moat. No one knows this, though. It'll be our little secret."

Tessa rounded her shoulders and went down after Jem, seemingly convinced now. They rolled down the dirt to the bottom of the moat, like as Jem promised, had no water whatsoever.

"How come they don't know about it?" Tessa said, cocking her head up to where the guards were patrolling the area.

"Only the royal family and those close know of it," Jem said simply, "it's here just in case of an emergency and somebody needed a quick escape." They were now standing along the base of the Institute. Jem felt blindly around and found a loose stone. He removed it, and the stones rearranged themselves, forming an entrance just wide enough for one person to fit through. And beyond that was darkness.

"What is this?" Tessa said, reaching into her cloak and producing a stone the size of her hand. She rubbed it, and bright light jumped out from it, illuminating a narrow corridor in front of them.

"It's the way to Will," Jem smiled at her.

"You're coming with me, right?" Tessa asked nervously.

Jem gave her a sad look. "I think you should go by yourself, Tessa. Will wants to see you, and I will get another chance to see him."

"But you came all this way!" Tessa exclaimed, "You can't back down now."

"No one ever said I'm backing down. I have to tend to the horses. I'll find a different way back. I know this castle by heart, Tessa. And besides, the king does admire me; it's very hard for him to get angry at me."

Tessa reached out for his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you so much, James Carstairs. I truly value what you've done."

Jem returned the pressure. "Just follow the corridor and ascend the stairs. Will's room is the second turn to the right. You'll see a door and you'll have to open that, and then push a tapestry to the side to get inside. I wish you the best of luck, Theresa Gray." Tessa gave him one last hopeful look and stepped into the passageway, the stones closing in front of her. She was inside the Institute.

* * *

"Miss Herondale wishes to see you," a guard said.

"Miss Herondale is already here," said a voice, pushing past the guard and slamming the door in his face.

"Cecy!" Will exclaimed, full of glee.

"Will!" Cecily said, matching his tone. She ran into his arms and he embraced her, hard. "I thought I would never see you again."

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in your room?" Will said.

Cecily shrugged. "I convinced our parents to give me five minutes together."

"Convinced, eh?" Will was dubious.

"Yes, convinced," Cecily said dramatically, "but you're already wasting time, William. I may have only five minutes left." She smirked. "So how was it? Your newfound freedom?"

"Amazing," Will said in a daze, "truly the best time of my life."

Cecily stalked forward and plopped down on his bed, her skirts belling around her. "Did you have any fun adventures? Make any good friends? Meet any girls?" She winked at that.

"Yes, on all three accounts," Will grinned.

"Oooh! Tell me more!"

"Well, I went on a quest to slay a dragon."

"A dragon you say?" the excitement was purely evident in Cecily's voice. "And did you? Kill it I mean."

"Long story short, yes," Will said, not wishing to elaborate with so little time, "but not without the help of Magnus Bane, who inadvertently led me there. He was a friend of father's, you know Cecy. He's a sorcerer."

"He is? But father hates magic." Cecily made a face.

"I felt the same, but evidently our father was a much different man before he became king."

"I wish he was still like that. It's no fun around here," Cecily sighed. "And what of this girl?"

Will groaned. It pained him just to think of Tessa. "She was the most amazing girl I have ever met, Cecy. And I'll never meet anyone like her. Jessamine does not even compare to her. This girl is everything; she's intelligent, brave, funny, courageous, fearless, and much more."

"You seem sad. Are you alright, Will?" Cecily placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She hates me," Will said in disgust, "she found out who I truly was and I don't think I can ever regain her trust again, after she found out I was the prince."

"This is all father's fault. If he hadn't caused such a name for himself, then we all could have found happiness."

"This is my fault too. If I hadn't lied to her, maybe things might have been better."

"Oh Will, I'm so sorry," Cecily's big, midnight eyes were brimming with tears. "If I hadn't been so stupid, then you wouldn't have been caught."

"No, no Cecily! The blame is mine. If I hadn't foolishly run away, then everyone I loved would not have been hurt. I left without thinking of the consequences of my actions."

"And risk your freedom? Will, your happiness means everything."

There was a knock on the door, and two guards stormed into the room. At least Will was saved a reply to Cecily. "It's time for you to go back, Miss Herondale." They took Cecily from her spot on Will's bed and guided her away.

"I love you William. And you will find hope," she added, before the door shut. Will was alone again. He went over to his bed and laid down flat, staring at the stone ceiling. He had been gone for so long, and nothing had changed. His conversation with Cecily both eased his mind and made him more tense. Part of him hoped that everything would work out, while the other half believed that he ruined everything. He knew that Jessamine was in his best interests at this point. Like the Ithuriel had said, the kingdom depends on the vitality of the Herondales. It was up to Will to strengthen Idris to keep both the land and the dragon alive. And he could only do this with Jessamine Lovelace.

There was a soft noise at the edge of his room. Will bolted upright, but saw nothing. "Who goes there?" he said. There was no reply. He sighed, but then the tapestry with the Herondale crest moved to the side. He heard the creak of a door open and then a figure skittered around the tapestry. A bright light glowed around the figure, making it difficult for Will to discern their features. The light dimmed, revealing who was in front of Will. Tessa.

No, it couldn't be. Tessa hated him and would never come looking for Will. She would never venture the entire distance of Blackfriars to the Institute; it was much too far. Yet, there she was, standing before him in the flesh. Will felt as if this was a dream.

"Will?" her voice came out strong and unsure, but filled Will with hope.

Will sat up, and stretched his arms out welcomingly. "Tess," he said, as if that one name meant everything to him, which it truly did. She ran to him into his arms, closing their embrace. Will felt a surge of giddiness through him, as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around, both of them laughing at the same time. Will gently placed her on the ground, but she kept her arms linked around his neck, keeping her close.

"Tessa, how did you find me? I thought you hated me and you never wanted to see me," Will said, finally finding the words to form.

Tessa shook her head, curls bouncing around her face. She looked as beautiful as ever. "I could never hate you, Will. I was upset at first. But then, I felt for you. I understood why you had to do what you did. And thanks to Jem, he fully convinced me to come after you. He spoke the truth and persuaded me of your feelings for me. If it wasn't for Jem, then I wouldn't be here."

"Jem, is he here?" Will said demandingly.

"Yes, but he said he had to take care of the horses. You have strong friends, William Herondale."

"I thought you would never find out."

"I never thought you were who you are. But I'm glad I know now that the prince of Idris is not who people say he is. He has proven everyone wrong, and he has a very true heart."

"Tess, please believe me when I say I love you. And I'm not saying this as a prince or a faux servant boy. Just as Will."

"I do," Tessa blushed, "and I love you too, Will. I couldn't bear the thought of you not knowing the truth. I had to find you. And I am rewarded, now that we have nothing to hide."

Instead of replying, Will swooped down to kiss her. She happily reciprocated it, pulling him closer to her. Will felt blissful and wanted nothing more than just Tessa. They stood in the same spot, kissing and muttering the three words that mattered the most to them. And this time around, they had no false identities or barriers to stop them. They remained there, entwined with each other that they barely heard the noise behind them.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said a voice from the door. They sprang apart to see that none other than Edmund Herondale peering at them.

* * *

**This was originally going to be two chapters, but then I figured it would be better if I made one big chapter out of it. So tada! **

**So, I'm going to say this now because the timing is right, but this is purely a Wessa story. I thought about making it Jessa too, but then it would be long and drag on and on and yada yada, so best to keep it short and sweet, eh? But, I am going to do another TID fic after this one, and I promise that will be a mix of both ships. Haha.**

**Review! Because things are going to get a bit more... complicated ;)**


	25. The Final Verdict

Tessa knew who was standing before her and Will without any introductions. It was none other than King Edmund. And he looked nothing like his son. Compared to Will, he was all light, but held a strong aura of coldness around him. There was an angry glint behind his stony blue eyes, and Tessa felt a wave of humiliation pass through her for being caught doing something strictly forbidden by the king of Idris himself.

"Um, father," Will started in a hesitant, shaky voice, "this is Theresa Gray. Tessa, as you might of noticed, this is my father."

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, sire," Tessa said timidly, trying to think of the best way to address the king.

King Edmund snorted unceremoniously. "What the hell do you think you're doing here, peasant?"

Tessa was dumbfounded. "Father!" Will exclaimed.

"Save it, William," King Edmund retorted, "I want to know why there is a peasant girl in your room."

"I – " Will started, but seem to be in a loss of words. Then seeming to muster enough courage, he said in a firm voice, "I love her father."

"Nonsense," King Edmund barked back, "you love no one but Jessamine Lovelace. Now tell me the real reason why she is here." He threw Tessa a scathing look, and Tessa recoiled in her spot.

"I already told you father," Will sneered, "I love her."

"How dare you talk to me in that manner!" boomed King Edmund, "something is wrong with you William, and I won't rest until you tell me the truth."

"I have already stated the truth," Will said, suddenly sounding very tired. Tessa snuck a peak at him and saw that he had gone very pale and suddenly looked extremely ill. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand to comfort him, but thought better of it, especially with his father breathing down their necks. "Why can't you just believe me?"

King Edmund narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Will. "Yes, why can't I? Maybe it's because you are making no sense whatsoever. Men like you don't fall in love so easily, William Herondale."

"Well, maybe this time it's different," Will said back.

King Edmund took a step back towards the entrance to Will's room, opening the door more. "Guards!" he yelled, "come in here. Now!"

As if on cue, five guards wearing sturdy armour clambered into Will's bedroom. "What do you need assistance in, your highness?" asked one of them.

"Take her away!" King Edmund demanded, pointing straight as Tessa. Tessa gulped and instantly felt the colour drain from her face. "She deserves a special place in the depths of the dungeons. Keep her there and do whatever you must until my _son_ answers the truth to me."

Before Tessa could even react, she felt arms all around her and yank her away from Will's side.

"Tessa!" Will shouted, trying to reach for her.

"Will!" Tessa shrieked back in pure panic. "Do something!"

"Father, stop!" Will commanded.

"I'm sorry William, but this is the price that you pay for dishonesty," King Edmund said, stepping between them, hindering Tessa's line of vision to Will. The guards dragged her out of the room and slammed the door behind them. Tessa felt as if all connections between herself and Will had been shut off.

"Come along," one of the guards said, and roughly shoved her alongside them. Tessa had no clue where they were leading her, and she grudgingly obliged. It was five to one and Tessa's chances were very slim. They pulled her along various corridors, but Tessa could barely soak in her surroundings; all she wanted was Will. Eventually, they reached a giant wooden door and all Tessa could see was darkness and nothing beyond that. They pushed her forward, and Tessa stumbled a bit to find them descending down a steep set of stairs. She continued on down, and with each step the place became colder and darker. Not to mention that the air stunk of rotting flesh. They reached to the bottom, where torches were lit sparingly to reveal an eerie, stone corridor. The guards took a set of keys from the side and opened the nearest cell, shoving Tessa into it and quickly locking the door. There was no way out. Tessa was completely hopeless.

Tessa then heard footsteps coming down the stairs. _Will_, Tessa thought, but she knew that it was illogical. After what happened, there was no way he was allowed to come down. And much to Tessa's dismay, King Edmund Herondale appeared before the barred door.

"Leave us," he instructed to the guards. The guards bowed, and Tessa heard them climb up the stairs.

"What did you do to Will?" Tessa said. She was surprised that she could still speak in a firm voice after all that happened.

"Nothing, yet," King Edmund shrugged. "But believe me, I will find the truth. My son was perfect and had never acted out of step, until you came along. There is something wrong with you, girl. And I am destined to find out."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I can't tell you yet. That will ruin the surprise, won't it?" King Edmund grinned at her visciously. "It would be a shame if I let you go, but I simply cannot do that. Criminals never go without getting what they deserve."

"Criminal?" The word echoed in Tessa's mind. "I did nothing wrong."

"You did everything wrong," King Edmund corrected her, "and I will find out the truth. And once I do, you will suffer the severe punishment." And with a flourish of his cape, he slammed the door shut, locking it and leaving Tessa alone in the darkness. Once she heard his footsteps recede, only then did she let the tears out.

* * *

Tessa Gray was close. Too close. She was right in the Herondale castle, the Institute. News spread like wildfire, and within no time, the Magister was fully aware of the situation at hand.

Everything was now perfect. All the pieces were beginning to fit together and the Magister was finally ready to execute the final step of his plan. It was just too easy, and the Magister was grateful for this. People were such fools, and the Magister scoffed at the thought of them. He just needed the opportune moment. Soon, Tessa Gray would be his.

* * *

Will hated his life. And this time he really did hate it. Why couldn't his father just understand him? And where was his mother? Linette Herondale always lived in the shadow of her husband, but she did have a gentler side to her. Surely she couldn't be so oblivious to what was happening.

His father had taken everything from him. His wishes, his freedom, and the love of his life. _Tessa_ he thought with a pang to his heart. What would Edmund do with her? Will could only hope that she would be fine. Will was determined to have her once everything was settled. But his father could barely believe him, so what was the chance that he would now?

The door creaked open, shutting off any further thoughts from his mind. Edmund Herondale stepped into his room, his expression carefully neutral. He shut the door behind him, leaving a safe distance between where he stood and where Will sat on his bed.

"I have reached a decision," Edmund announced.

Will raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?" he asked, silently wishing that Tessa would be freed.

"You are to be married to Jessamine Lovelace."

"Tell me something I don't know," Will rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"I will not accept this form of behaviour in my household," Edmund scolded, "and I was not quite finished. I'm moving up the wedding date. It is as punishment for what you did, and to get such foolish thoughts out of your head. Your marriage will take place a week from today."

"A week!?" Will nearly shouted. "That's too soon father!"

"Silence!" Edmund commanded. "This whole falling in love business is quite irrational, especially for you William. I thought perhaps that something was wrong with you, but I have been thinking. No love comes this fast, and that only means one thing. That peasant girl is a sorcerer."

Will gaped, completely struck speechless. "She… no father," Will finally said, "that's not what she is."

"It seems she must have played with your mind," Edmund shook his head solemnly, "of course she would. Most sorcerers are so conniving. And that would be the only explanation to this recklessness of yours. As you know, you are one of the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom, apart from your betrothal to Miss Lovelace. It would only make sense that she cast a spell on you so she could gain control of this kingdom. But, I will not allow for a peasant girl who is a warlock to take advantage of you."

"You're delirious," Will muttered so his father couldn't hear.

"What she did to you was entirely against all laws of this kingdom," Edmund went on, as if he didn't hear what Will had said. "I have finally made my mind for her form of punishment. And I have decided that it will happen a week from today, the same day as your wedding."

Will felt sick. "What is it then?" he asked, even though he did not want to know the answer.

Edmund looked at Will so intently that it burned. "The peasant girl will be executed. And my decision is final." And at that, Will felt his world collapse.

* * *

**Muahahaha. I just love being so evil.**

**On a happier note, some of you were inquiring about the other TID fic that I was going to be writing, and I just published it :) The plan was to write it after this one, but it was just far too tempting. So it's now up. Go check it out! It's called _A Year Abroad_. Not a very creative title lol.**

**Review! You know the drill!**


	26. Revelations

Will was in his room alone, sulking to himself. His father had left hours ago, or so it felt like. It was late, and Will could not sleep, no matter how much he tried. He must have been lying on the bed for hours doing nothing.

His father was being absolutely unfair! He couldn't believe his ears when his father told him the most unfortunate news. Tessa was going to die and it was entirely his fault. If Will hadn't been stupid and ran away like that, he would have never met Tessa, and she would never been condemned to this terrible fate. So many bad things had sprung up from Will's spontaneous wish to run away. He was a curse to everything.

But he couldn't help falling in love. If there was anything good that came from his escape, it was that he finally found happiness, however short it was. Will would never experience that feeling again, but he knew he would cherish that memory forever.

There was a sudden rustling beside him. Will sat up on his bed, his senses on high alert. He heard more noise, then turned his head to the side to see that the tapestry hanging on the wall slightly shifting around. It was the same tapestry from where Tessa appeared from just a few short hours ago. There was a creaking, and Will was suddenly hopeful that it might be Tessa, though it was highly unlikely. Did she find a way to escape possibly? No, she was locked away. Unless…

Footsteps. Will prepared himself for what might come, reaching out for his sword for extra precaution. Out stepped a slim figure. A man, definitely not Tessa. It was Jem.

"James!" Will exclaimed, with a slight twinge of disappointment. He should not have expected Tessa, but at least it was Jem.

"Will," Jem panted. He looked fatigued and his clothes were rumpled, dirt sticking all around him.

"Jem, what happened?" Will hurried on over, shutting the door behind the tapestry, and leading Jem over to his bed, where the other boy collapsed. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," Jem said, brushing off Will's pestering need to assist Jem, "I'm just glad that it's over."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I was just figuring what to do with the horses, after I let Tessa through. I was able to get them away safely without being noticed by anyone, so I decided this was the best way to come back." Jem looked around the room, as if trying to search for someone. "Is Tessa here? I thought she came this way…"

At the mention of Tessa, Will's face paled. Jem caught this right away.

"William, where is Tessa?"

"My father," Will choked out. He was amazed he could say this much. "He discovered us together."

"Oh no," Jem's silver eyes widened in fright, "don't tell me what I think he did."

"Worse," Will slowly shook his head. "Jem, he's going to kill her."

Jem was struck speechless. "This isn't possible. Your father has never killed anyone. He may be a horrible king, but in the twenty years that he's ruled, not a single person has been executed under his rule."

"He caught us together, then he deemed her a peasant and a sorcerer without any proof. It's way too unfair, James. Now she's going to die."

"That's horrible," Jem spat out, looking revolted. "Of all the things that Edmund Herondale has done, this will be the worse."

"This is all my fault," Will said more to himself than to Jem, burying his head in his hands. "If I hadn't run away… if I hadn't met her, then we would both be better off."

"William, really?" Jem said lightly, placing a comforting hand on Will's shoulder. "If you hadn't ran away, you would not have met Tessa. I can tell that she means everything to you."

"And now she's going to die, thanks to me. I should have just gone along with my parents' wishes and stuck to the engagement to Jessamine."

"And risk your own happiness?" Jem let out a humourless laugh. "You're a fool to think that, Will."

"At least with Jessamine, I would have had the kingdom's best interests at heart. I should just listen to that dragon."

"Dragon?" Jem perked up and Will looked at his brother to see confusion spread across Jem's face. "What dragon?"

Will realised that he hadn't told Jem about the quest when Jem came to Blackfriars. All they really discussed was bringing Will back home. Quickly, Will filled Jem in on the entire quest and the whole truth of that, not missing out on a single detail.

Jem was silent the full time, understanding slowly flooding his eyes. Finally he said, "you are forgetting one thing."

"What's that?" Will asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Cecily." Jem said this as if the single name held all the answers. And it did.

Will nearly slapped himself in the face. "How could I have been so stupid? Of course! Cecily has the Herondale bloodline to carry on. And even if she does marry into another kingdom, she'll still be the queen and thus royalty."

"So you didn't have to sacrifice your love after all," Jem smiled.

"I would never have anyway," Will stated.

"What do you mean?" said Jem.

Now it was Will's turn to smile. "I am going to break Tessa out of prison. And I am going to do it with your help."

* * *

Tessa had been sitting in her cell, and she was completely bored to death. No one had come down to talk to her, so the only company she really had were the rats that were scurrying in and around the cell. On top of that, she could barely see a thing. All she could see was the darkness and filth surrounding her.

Tessa sighed, and leaned against the wall. Or at least, she hoped that it was the wall, though it felt oddly slimy against her back. She wished that she was with Will. Will would comfort her in such a situation. She could only hope that Will could persuade his father into freeing her.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and Tessa jumped up in her spot. She heard some rattling up above, followed by heavy footsteps and some clanking, presumably armour. Tessa tensed, unsure of what to expect. Had the king finally decided her form of punishment? Or was somebody coming to rescue her? _Rescue her_, Tessa cringed at that; she hated feeling so petty and weak.

Somebody stopped short in front of her cell. In the dim lighting, she could see that it was a man, probably in his middle ages. As Tessa paid more close attention to his face, she recognised him. He was the same knight that had taken Will away.

"You are Theresa Gray, aren't you?" he said in a gruff, deep voice.

"Yes," Tessa said in a small voice, knowing that she couldn't deny the truth. The whole castle was bound to know that she was here… her presence would now go unnoticed.

"Hmph," the man said with a curt nod. "Well, I guess you're expecting me to tell you why I'm here."

Tessa gave an imperceptible nod, but the man must have noticed, for he went on, "they have decided to execute you."

"They what!?" Tessa nearly shouted. Never in a million years would she have guessed this was the type of penalty that she would have gotten. Maybe some extreme imprisonment, but that was about it. Wasn't Will going to do anything to stop it? Or even worse, had no one relayed the message to him? Tessa felt a wave a panic go through her and her vision was clouded by whiteness. She could barely even process her surroundings and she could not think at all. She then realised that the knight was talking to her.

"What?" Tessa said in a daze.

"I said," the knight repeated in an irritated tone, "are you going to come out or what?"

Tessa lifted her head up to see that the cell door was ajar. And in his hands, the knight was holding the keys. Tessa numbly stood up and exited her cell, feeling a burst of freedom spread throughout her.

"Come on now," the knight said and urged her forward up the stairs. Tessa stumbled as she made her way out of the dungeons. The sudden brightness in front of her took her by surprise. Even after a few hours of being in the dark, the light was a bit disconcerting. It must have been early morning, since warm rays of sun were trickling through the high windows.

The knight did not slow his speed, but instead grabbed for Tessa's hand and pulled her along. They kept going, the knight glancing over his shoulder every so often, as if checking to see if anyone had followed them. The knight had nothing to worry about… they were clear all the way through.

Then, a middle aged woman holding a big bowl burst out through a pair of double doors. "Oh, Mortmain," she said, startled by him, "what ever is the matter? You look frantic."

"Not now, Agatha," the knight – Mortmain – said, "I'm in a bit of a rush, and it best that I'm not delayed."

Without another word, Mortmain pushed Tessa along, leaving a dumbfounded Agatha behind. They descended another set of stairs, this time smelling vaguely of hay and dung. They had reached the stables, and Tessa had the slightest inkling of where Mortmain was going with his plan.

"I want to see Will," she said firmly.

"No you don't," he said persuasively, "we are in a time crunch and must go on before they discover you missing. Now, go." He shoved her onto a horse and mounted it behind her. Then, he pushed the horse forward and they burst out of the stables and away from the Institute. And away from Will.

* * *

"Your father requests your presence, Mr. Herondale," said a guard at Will's door. He looked up at the guard. Jem had long gone to attend to his chores and such. Jem promised he would be back later so they could discuss the plan.

"Why should I listen to him?" Will drawled.

"Because the matter at hand is about Tessa Gray." At this, Will perked up.

"Take me to him right away," Will demanded, and the guard bowed low. Will got up and followed the guard out of his room and down the long corridor to the throne room. The walk felt like it was forever, but he eventually made it there. The guard thrust open the doors and there was Edmund Herondale. For a change, he was alone, without his mother or Cecily by his side.

Will stepped in and rounded his shoulders. "You called for me, father?"

"The Gray girl escaped," Edmund said simply, his tone holding finality that he wished to not elaborate on.

"She what?" Will yelled. This was definitely not Will's plan. "How?"

"I was hoping you would tell me that," Edmund said, his eyes holding a dangerous glint.

"I didn't do anything!" Will shouted. Part of him was happy that Tessa was out, but part of him was wondering where she could have gone and how she might have escaped.

Edmund solemnly shook his head. "That was what I thought you would say. But I know you did it, son."

"Why won't you believe me?" Will said coldly.

"Let me think," Edmund scratched his chin, "you were the one that ran away from home and you were the one being unfaithful to your betrothed. I can think of plenty of more reasons, William, but don't bother wasting my time. You've already done that enough."

Will stood in disbelief. He hated his father, but now that hatred ran even deeper than the blood in his veins. At that very moment, the doors at the other end burst open and more guard entered. They were not alone, though. With them was one of the Institute's prestigious cooks, Agatha.

"We have a witness, sire," one of the guards announced.

"Bring her forward," Edmund barked, and the guards shoved Agatha so she was directly forcing her king, beside Will. "What did you see?"

"I saw him," Agatha said in a trembling voice. "I saw him take the brown haired girls from the dungeon and push her along. He seemed to be in an awful hurry and would not even stop to talk, as he normally would do. They were headed towards the stables."

"Who? Was it my son?" Edmund yelled.

Agatha recoiled. "No, definitely not Prince William. It was your esteemed knight, your highness. Axel Mortmain."

"No," Edmund shook his head like he didn't want to believe what he heard. "It can't be. This is all your fault." He jabbed a finger at Will.

"Me? I never even left my room father!" Will said. Why was it so hard for his father to believe him?

"It was not your son, sire," Agatha, to Will's surprise, spoke out. "I have confirmed among the guards, and none of them ever saw anything suspicious from the prince's room."

"Is that so?" Edmund sounded dubious. "I'll deal with you later," he said to Will. Then he got up and marched up to his guards. "Sound the alarm. It seems we have two fugitives on the loose."

* * *

Mortmain rode like a complete madmen the whole way through. Tessa could not even bring herself to speak because she was feeling so queasy. And this seemed intentional, at least on Mortmain's behalf.

They rode throughout the entire day, and Mortmain did not even stop for rest. Somewhere along the road, the sparse trees transformed into thick clusters of woods, and then Tessa knew where she was. She was here just a week ago with Will. Brocelind Forest.

No, but it couldn't be. Was it possible that she was going to the same place twice within a span of a week? For a normal traveller, that would be common, but for a villager like Tessa, this seemed impossible.

Mortmain began to slow the pace down on the horse, then he veered to the side and galloped further into the forest. Everything look the same to Tessa, yet there was a sense of familiarity the deeper they went in. Eventually, he reached a hill that rolled straight downwards into a cottage. The same cottage where the thieves had taken Tessa.

Something was definitely not right here. Something was not right when Mortmain had taken Tessa to the stables, and she suspected it further at the rate that he was going and the desperation that drove him away from the castle. And the fact that he was in the exact same cottage as the Pandemonium Club's hideaway… Tessa had her serious doubts.

Mortmain leapt off the horse and pulled Tessa down. Before she could protest, he yanked her behind him and headed straight down to the cottage. He pulled out a pair of keys from his trousers and unlocked the door, shoving Tessa inside.

"You know this place?" Mortmain said, his voice unusually calm that it scared Tessa. "You where here just a week ago. I was anticipating our meeting. I never thought it would happen this way."

Tessa turned to face him. She saw a glint at his weapons belt and noticed a dagger protruding out, with two circular serpents biting each others' tails. It was the symbol that Will had explained to her when recounting the tale of her rescue: the _ouroboros_. It was the symbol of the Pandemonium Club. Which only meant one thing…

"You're the Magister," Tessa said slowly. "You are the one who has wanted me all this while."

"So you are a clever girl," Mortmain grinned wickedly.

"What do you want from me?" Tessa said unwaveringly.

"Before I tell you what I want," Mortmain started, "let me explain something. You are not, as you thought, Tessa Gray of Blackfriars. You are Tessa Starkweather, the long lost princess of the Starkweather kingdom."

* * *

**Um, so yeah? I think that's good enough for now, don't you say?**

**I don't want to say too much, so I guess you guys will find out more soon :)**


	27. The Other Half

"You have a visitor waiting for you, King Edmund," said a guard who had just come into the throne room. Will was still inside that room – Edmund would not let him out of his sight. Jem and Cecily had even come in, and were hanging around the side. Cecily no longer had guards hovering around her, so Will guessed they might of let her off the hook. At least it was a relief to have them there.

"Alright, send them in," Edmund said grouchily.

The doors opened and several guards entered, followed by a hooded figure. The guards moved aside and allowed the person, a man Will presumed, to step forward so that he was facing the king. He pushed his hood back to reveal a pair of cat-like eyes.

"Magnus!" Will and Edmund exclaimed simultaneously, and then looked at each other in confusion.

"Ah, father and son reunited at last," Magnus said, amusement sparkling behind his unusual eyes. "How does it feel to be back, Will?"

"William, how do you know Magnus?" Edmund asked with a dangerous edge to his voice, and Will knew he had to answer to his father.

"I met him," Will shrugged.

"Yes, I can tell," Edmund said in irritation. "But you seem more than just acquaintances. Expand on that, William."

Will quickly turned to Magnus, who urged him to go on. "He was in the village of Blackfriars where I was living. He helped me out, father, and not without telling me that he was a good friend of yours."

"Hmph," Edmund sighed, but he seemed somewhat convinced, "Well, it's good to see you, old friend." Much to Will's surprise, Edmund rose from his throne and went over to Magnus, giving him a quick embrace. Magnus appeared taken aback by this too, but returned the hug while giving Edmund a short pat on the back.

"Who's Magnus?" Cecily said in curiosity, her big blue eyes widening even more.

"A good friend," Edmund said with a rare smile. "One of the few. So what brings you here Magnus? It has truly been years since we last spoke."

"It has," Magnus said, looking apologetic, "but I have important matters to discuss with you."

"Do tell, Magnus. Or would you prefer to speak in private?"

"No, no don't worry. I think it would be better if everyone was here." Magnus gestured around the room, his eyes lingering around Will. "The more, the merrier."

"Do carry on, then." Edmund had taken his seat back on his throne, but leaned forward, all his attention on Magnus.

"Let's see, where do I start?" Magnus stroked his stubbly chin in deep thought. "You know of the Starkweathers?"

"Of course," Edmund said with a wave of a hand, "crazy old Aloysius Starkweather has been the king of the kingdom of Alicante for decades. He's eighty-nine years old and no where close to dying. But, he doesn't have any heirs. Most unfortunate, though. The kingdom will die out sooner or later."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong," Magnus said with a large grin.

"What do you mean?" Edmund arched a pale eyebrow.

"What I'm about to tell you, no one else knows. Or so I assume we will be the only ones."

"Oh by the Angel Magnus," Will yelled, "don't keep the suspicion. Please tell us!"

Magnus laughed, while Edmund gave his son a dirty look. Will ignored him, though Magnus went on, "and that is where you're wrong, Edmund Herondale. Aloysius does indeed have a single heir."

"He does?" Edmund said in bewilderment, sitting up taller on the throne. "I knew that he had a granddaughter, but I thought she was long gone. Please explain, Magnus."

Magnus took a deep breath before launching into story. "Well, as you know, Aloysius had a granddaughter, Adele Starkweather. The general story goes that she disappeared at a young age."

"That is what I've heard, yes," said Edmund with a nod. "But they never found a body, did they?" Will racked his brain. He had briefly heard of floating stories, about how the Starkweathers had a granddaughter who mysteriously vanished, and there was no trace of her left behind. It was one of the biggest unsolved mysteries, and most people assumed she was dead, and hence no one to carry on the legacy of the Starkweathers.

"No, they never did," continued Magnus, "the truth is that she did disappeared, but it was no coincidence. She was kidnapped." Everyone's attention snapped at this and all the focus in the room was centered on Magnus. "It was all part of the plan. She was taken away and forced to live in the village of Blackfriars, the very same village where I have been for years now. It was the work of dark magic.

"There was a family there, the Moores. They had two daughters: Harriet and Elizabeth. The resemblance between Elizabeth Moore and Adele Starkweather was striking. At the time of Adele's disappearance, Elizabeth Moore had succumbed to a terrible illness and died. Before she died, though, Adele's captors brought her over to the Moores and put a block on Adele's mind, making her forget everything about her time as a Starkweather. So hence, Adele was taken under the roof of the Moores, though they still believed that she was their daughter, and continued on the name Elizabeth Moore.

"Adele, or Elizabeth as she was known, spent the remainder of her life in Blackfriars. She had no idea of her life before, and everyone assumed she was the real Elizabeth Moore. Eventually, she grew older and met the love of her life, Richard Gray." At this, Will felt his heart skip a beat. "They married, and had one daughter who meant everything to them. Unfortunately, though, Richard and Elizabeth died when their daughter was only three, leaving her alone in this world."

There was silence, then finally Edmund said, "why are you telling me all this Magnus?"

"Because the girl is still alive, and she is the lifeline of Aloysius Starkweather's dying kingdom," Magnus said in the most serious tone that Will had ever heard. "And she is right here, in this castle."

"Tessa," Will breathed, everything beginning to tie together. "Tessa is a princess." He said this more as a question, than an actual statement.

"You mean the peasant girl?" Edmund said in shock.

"You mean the princess, your highness," Magnus corrected. "So yes, Tessa Gray is truly Tessa Starkweather of Alicante."

"She never told me," Will said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"She does not even know," Magnus said.

"So how do you know?" Edmund asked Magnus.

"I know everything in this kingdom," Magnus winked. "It's my duty as warlock to be aware of all the details here."

"There has to be more, Magnus," Will pressed on. "Who were the ones that kidnapped Adele Starkweather?"

"The Pandemonium Club," Magnus replied, and Will gasped. These were the same people that attacked Will and took Tessa away when they were in Cadair Idris. "In fact, they were the ones that approached me to involve myself in the dark magic they were so interested in to take away Adele from Alicante. I declined them, as they found other purposes for their magic, but stayed on their tail the entire time. That is why I resided in Blackfriars. To keep an eye on Adele, and later her daughter, Tessa."

"Why come to us to tell us now, Magnus?" Edmund said.

"I knew that Will had been taken away and what happened between him and Tessa." Will blushed at this. "If you went on knowing that Tessa was a peasant girl, nothing could be fixed. I had to come here in time."

Edmund sunk in his chair, burying his head in his hands, ruffling his pale blond hair. "What have I done?"

"Come again?" Magnus said, scrunching his eyebrows.

"My father," Will spat, "caught Tessa and threw her down into the dungeons without my word. Then, he condemned her to her death."

"Oh no, don't tell me she's dead," Magnus paled. Will had never seen Magnus so anxious.

Edmund let out a humorless laugh. "She's not dead. Not yet."

"Well then, where is she?"

"She's been abducted," Will said, with an ache in his heart, "by our esteemed knight, Axel Mortmain."

* * *

"No," Tessa shook her head, "it's not possible. You lie."

"I speak every word of the truth," Mortmain boomed, looming over her.

"Why should I believe you?" Tessa retorted.

"Because you will have every ounce of respect once you do. Because you serve me for the rest of your life."

Tessa raised an eyebrow, but wanted to know more. "I am not a princess. I'm a commoner of Blackfriars."

"Or that's what we wanted you to think," Mortmain said. Before Tessa could further protest, Mortmain launched into his story: "your mother was the granddaughter of Aloysius Starkweather. She was taken away from her kingdom for better services by me and the Pandemonium Club. We brought her to Blackfriars, where she lived and believed she was Elizabeth Moore. The real Elizabeth had died, and she was a sort of replacement, though nobody suspected any differences. She met Richard Gray and together they had you."

"So you are saying that I'm a princess?" Tessa said. "And that you were behind everything?"

"This is something I would never lie about," Mortmain said grimly, "so yes. My proudest accomplishment."

"You're sick," Tessa sneered, "why would you do that? My mother would have had a much better life if you didn't take her away."

"I'm not saying she had an awful life," Mortmain defended himself, "she enjoyed herself thoroughly in Blackfriars. I spent my time waiting for what she could give: you."

"Me?" Tessa's voice was small. "Why me?"

"An allegiance," Mortmain beamed, though on his features it looked twisted. "All Adele, or Elizabeth as she was known, needed was a single child. And from that child came a legacy of royalty."

"What are you proposing?" Tessa said, feeling a wave of dizziness.

"A marriage." He smiled wickedly.

"A marriage?" This was too much for Tessa to handle.

"Together, you and I will rule the Herondale kingdom. And the Starkweather kingdom. They are all but dust and shadows now. We will start a new, better land. And then ruin it. They have caused nothing but pain and suffering to all. Once Idris and Alicante are destroyed, we will build upon a new kingdom, ruled solely by me. We will purify the race of beings so that they only answer to us."

"No," Tessa said.

"What?" Mortmain looked bewildered, caught up in his own plan.

"I won't do it," Tessa shook her head, "these kingdoms need a ruler that will help them, not destroy them and brainwash them. This is madness."

"Madness comes from geniuses," Mortmain grinned.

Tessa pinched the bridge of her nose. "What does Nate have to do with all this?"

"Ah, my dear Nathaniel. You know he was locked away and thought he would never see the light again? People are so dim-witted these days. It was far too easy to allow him to escape. He shall be here any moment." Mortmain glanced around him, as if proving his point. "Anyway, I knew of Harriet Moore and Nathaniel's relationship to Elizabeth. I had them keep an eye on you specifically, although they didn't know why. I paid them large sums of money. Unfortunately, Harriet spoke out of place, so I had Nathaniel do the right thing."

"No," Tessa murmered.

"Yes," Mortmain said, "he killed your aunt you know? Poisoned her. She should not have defended you, but that was the price she paid. She was not even your true aunt, come to think of it."

"She's more family than you'll ever be," Tessa snarled.

"You know, once we're married, I'll need you to learn some manners there. You won't go far as my queen."

"How can I be your queen? You're not even royalty."

"There is where you are mistaken. I hold the highest honour as a knight, and within the laws of Idris, a knight can become king. This all worked towards my favourite."

"You can't keep me here forever. They'll come for me. I know they will."

"They want you dead. What was the deal there, Theresa? Falling in love with the prince. He'll never come for you. He was just playing you the entire time."

Tessa didn't want to believe that. "Will would never do that to me."

"You have so much faith in him for a love that will never be returned," Mortmain chuckled. "Don't waste it on him. That is why you have me. And together, we will be the greatest king and queen ever."

"You disgust me," Tessa turned away from him.

"Oh Theresa, that is not how you should speak to your soon-to-be husband. Your love for me will come soon, and I know of it. We must hurry along then."

"Hurry with what?"

"The marriage."

"Oh yeah?" Tessa scoffed. "And when is that?"

"Today."

* * *

"Axel Mortmain you say?" Magnus said. "I've heard of this chap. Say, isn't he your best knight, Edmund?"

"That's what I thought," Edmund said in a pained voice.

"You have to learn to not always trust those who are closest to you."

"I just don't understand," Edmund shook his head. "Why would he be so desperate to take her away?" At least Edmund didn't think that Will was still behind Tessa's escape. Must have been the entire princess thing. It still felt so surreal that Will could hardly believe it.

"Unless he had a motive," Will spoke up.

"Care to explain, William?" Edmund said lazily. Will hated this tone, and hated it further when his father used his full name.

"Magnus, you said Adele's kidnapping was orchestrated by the Pandemonium Club, right?" Will said, and Magnus nodded, urging Will to go on. "Well, Tessa and I had two run-ins with the Pandemonium Club during our time together. They seemed pretty desperate to get their hands on her, which now makes perfect sense. Tessa is more powerful than we anticipated. During our encounters, they mentioned that the Magister was the one who wanted Tessa. He runs the Pandemonium Club."

"That's right," Magnus said, his eyes alight with understanding.

"Both times, the Pandemonium Club worked in groups to get ahold on Tessa." Will was on a roll, and there was no stopping him. "This time around, their task was executed by a single person. Third time is always a charm, as they say. Which means only one thing: Axel Mortmain is the Magister."

"My brother is a genius!" Cecily shouted out. Everyone forgot she was there, and Will rolled his eyes, not wanting his sister to talk anymore.

"He truly is," Magnus said in agreement. "And now, all the pieces finally fit together."

"The question is," Edmund spoke up, "where could he have taken her? Mortmain rarely leaves the castle, and if he does, it's on quick trips."

"I think I know where," Will said.

"Where then, son?" Edmund said, looking directly at Will.

"I will tell you only if you agree to one condition."

"Very well, what is it?"

Will took a deep breath. "We have to go save Tessa. And we will go if I lead the way."

* * *

**Oh boy, this was exhausting to write. So much explaining and all D: Hope you didn't bore y'all.**

**Soooo, I saw the TMI movie. It was alright, but was good in terms of a YA book to movie adaptation. I absolutely loved the acting though! That was truly the highlight of the film. Still though, can't wait for City of Ashes :D What did you guys think of the movie, if you've seen it?**


	28. Almost There

Will had never rode so fast on Balios. This was even faster than the time when he left the Institute, which seemed like ages ago. And his desperation was driven by only one thing: Tessa.

They had departed from the Institute upon immediate notice. Will was surprised that his father had allowed him to go on this rescue mission, let alone lead it, and that Jem could come. Will insisted on bringing Jem, and his father permitted it, probably because Edmund had already made so many mistakes that he had already lost the war he had barely started. Cecily, though, was forced to stay at the Institute, much to her dismay. The knights of Idris and Edmund Herondale himself also accompanied Will, as well as Magnus, to Will's excitement. At least they had some hope in saving Tessa and defeating Mortmain.

Will chugged along the same path that he had gone on with Tessa just a week ago. Except, this time he wasn't going to slay a dragon. This time, it was a much more important goal that he had to reach. Jem always said that Will rushed towards the end of a mission rather than taking small steps forward. Jem was right, as always, but it was hard for Will to focus when the goal he sought was the girl he loved most in the world. But he had to focus, if he had to get Tessa out of this.

They had ridden throughout the entire day without a break. They had reached Brocelind Forest, where the sun was beginning to descend past the shadows of the trees and Will had a gut feeling that there wasn't much time left. He had no idea how he remembered the route back, but he just did. There was a clearing up ahead in the side, and he turned there. Then came the distinct hill, the same just as it was a week ago. Will slowed Balios to a stop, everyone else mimicking his move too. Jem came up next to Will and peered down the hill.

"Is this it, Will?" Jem asked.

Will glanced down at the cottage. "This is definitely it," he confirmed, and then he jumped off Balios, willing the horse to stay. Will looked up to see that on the other side of the hill, more horses were there, people coming off dressed in fancy clothes. Will swallowed hard.

"I'm going down,"he told Jem and the others. "Stay in the shadows and make sure no one sees you. If I don't return in fifteen minutes, come find me." With his sword clutched firmly in his hand, Will set off running down the hill towards the girl that he loved.

* * *

Tessa sighed and then sunk down onto the hard bed. It felt like cold stone against her, which was not very considerate in terms of her future. She detested Mortmain and she could barely stand thinking that she would be marrying a man that was nearly thrice her age. A man whom she did not and never would love.

And on top of that she was a princess. Never in a million years would Tessa ever entertain the thought of her being a true princess. It felt so surreal that she didn't even want to believe it. If everyone knew that she was a princess, would all that have happened really occur? Would she have still met Will? Surely she would have, but they probably wouldn't have connected in the same way that they did. What they had between each other was truly magical.

After Mortmain delivered the shocking news, he unceremoniously marched Tessa into one of the bedrooms and slammed the door. He seemed really paranoid that she would escape, though if she did, she would have nowhere to go. She wondered if Will and the others in the Institute knew she was missing. Would they do anything about it? Probably not… she was just a worthless peasant and an insubordinate warlock in their eyes. Which, according to Mortmain, were both untrue. She was neither a peasant nor a warlock.

Mortmain had come a couple hours later – or what seemed like a couple hours – to deliver her wedding dress. Tessa could hardly believe that he was being serious, but apparently he was. And the guests were to arrive in just a few short hours. Who would attend such a wedding? Were there others outside of the Pandemonium Club that new of this injustice?

So here Tessa was, sitting on the hard, stone bed in her wedding dress. It was quite pretty; white with beautiful frills with skirts that belled around the bottom. She just wished that she wasn't going to get married in such a pretty dress to such a horrible man. Tessa felt hopeless, and she hated herself for feeling this way.

There was a sudden rap at her window, making Tessa jump. Tessa sat back down when she saw nothing. She most likely just imagined it. _Tap tap_. There it was again. She definitely was not imaging it. Tessa stood up and strolled towards the window to see a figure standing by it. And not just anyone. Will.

Her heart soared with joy. Tessa flung open the window, which to her surprise opened quite easily, and grinned down to Will.

"Move aside, Tess darling. I'm coming back," Will grinned. Tessa felt all giddy as she moved to the side. Will jumped up, since the room was slightly elevated, and literally climbed up the wall. He was extremely adept and moved without a sound. He hoisted himself up the window and tumbled down into the room.

"Will!" Tessa exclaimed, then shuffled over to help Will up.

"I'm fine Tess," he said, brushing his clothes off. He was wearing the usual, white shirt with black trousers and black boots, a sword in hand. He appeared tired and fatigued and smelled faintly of hay and horses. But nevertheless, he was Will, and Tessa couldn't stop herself from flinging herself onto him and wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her head into his chest and breathing him in. Will entwined his arms around her waist, holding her close.

"How did you know where to find me?" Tessa asked when they finally pulled apart.

"I just did," Will said, and Tessa knew what he meant.

"Do you know the truth?" Tessa asked, burning to know the answer.

"The truth that you are so beautiful," Will murmured, pulling her against him again and ruffling her hair.

Tessa laughed. "The truth about me."

"Magnus told me," Will stated.

"You're not angry?"

"Tess, how could I be angry with something you had no knowledge of? I am relieved, Tess. And I'm going to get you out of here and we are going to spend the rest of our lives together."

Tessa felt as if she could melt in her bones. "I just never knew. I didn't expect this to be the truth and it still feels so unreal."

"It is real, and you are real to me," Will lifted Tessa's chin so his eyes bore straight into her own. "But right now, we best get going. It seems that people are expecting you." He eyed her clothes, doing a full body scan.

"The Magister wishes to marry me," Tessa said through gritted teeth. "The Magister is your family's knight Mortmain, you know?"

"Yes, we figured it out," Will nodded, "and I absolutely will not allow him to carry out his plans. No one deserves you except for me. Come, let's go." Will grabbed her hand and guided her towards the open window. They peered down to see some of the thieves from the Pandemonium Club circling around her window. How come they weren't there before.

"Shit," Will said under his breath, hiding in the shadows out of sight from the men. "Where did they come from?"

Tessa shrugged. "Any other way out?"

They looked up towards the single door in the room. "Seems like that's the only other way," Will said glumly, "let's hope we don't get caught."

He led Tessa towards the door, then as quietly as possible, swung it open. Will stepped out first, double checking his surroundings to ensure that no one was there. Once the coast was clear, he beckoned Tessa to follow him and together, they silently marched down the long, twining corridor. They made sure that their footsteps were not heard and that the floorboards beneath them didn't creak. Much to their surprise, and in their favour, no one appeared. Tessa could tell that Will had no clue where they were heading – this cottage was confusing as hell. He was certainly doing better than she ever would.

Eventually, they reached the front door. Will mentioned that he saw people coming to the cottage, presumably the wedding guests. But where were they? Will and Tessa didn't bump into a single soul. It was very odd.

Will grasped Tessa's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He was about to open the door when someone cleared their throat. Tessa and Will spun around to see the lights coming on, each one illuminating in an eerie manner. And standing before them was Mortmain, followed by all the other men and woman for the wedding, probably part of the Pandemonium Club. Behind him was Nathaniel Gray, and Tessa gasped.

"You're not going anywhere," Mortmain said coldly, but calmly, rattling Tessa's bones. He must have bust Nate and the other cronies out of the jail or something.

Will opened his mouth to say something when the door burst open. Magnus entered, along with Jem and King Edmund, in addition to all of the Herondale knights.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

**AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET THE BATTLE ENSUE. It's gonna be epic xD Well, idk if it is, but it's gonna happen.**

**So I think there's going to be two more chapters or so of this fic left. But yeah, I'll be done with this by next week. Yay!**


	29. The Last Battle

Everyone jumped into action that it was too quick for Will to process. For a split second, Will hesitated as the knights ran forward and clashed with Mortmain's men. Then, he grabbed a dagger and handed it to Tessa, a silent communication passing between them. He pulled her to the side, hopefully out of sight, and launched into the melee.

Will slashed his sword blindly around him, trying not to kill anyone in the process. He hated killing people, especially when they deserved it. Mortmain on the other hand…

Suddenly, someone grabbed Will by the shoulder and shoved him down hard onto the splintered wooden floor. Will yelped in pain, as his Herondale sword went flying from his grip. He looked up to see one of Mortmain's big man swinging a spiked club about, ready to bring it down hard on Will. Will clenched his fists, despite the pain, ready to release his punch. But before he could, the man was thrown backwards and hit the wall, rolling down unconscious. At the spot where the man once was Tessa.

"Tessa!" Will exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? I told you to wait in the corner so you wouldn't be hurt."

"Will, I couldn't just let you go in there alone," Tessa said. "You can't do it all alone, Will, and I just had to help. And besides, weren't you the one who said that I don't need all the protecting?"

Will blushed, but luckily the madness of the fight hid this from everyone. He rose to his feet then picked up his sword, which no one had yet to notice. He then reached out to clutch Tessa's hand tight, then dragged her away from the fight.

"Will, where are you going?" Tessa shouted amidst the shouts and screams.

Will grinned maddeningly at Tessa. In truth, he did not know where he was going, but hopefully somewhere safe. He pushed blindly through the various doors and made his way down the twists and turns in the cottage. For such a small home, it sure seemed huge. Then, unexpectedly, they were making their way down some stone steps. Stone? Where did that come from?

Will shrugged and kept moving down. They descended down to an enormous stone hall, slightly illuminated by torches in the side. It must have been the foundation upon which the entire cottage was most likely built on top of. Will and Tessa slowed their pace as they began to walk towards the center of the room.

The hall was bare, save for a wall on the far side that had multiple slits on it, almost like a gate. There was a grumbling sound that reverberated through the wall beyond the hall. Tessa jumped in her place.

"What was that?" she whispered nervously to Will.

Will shook his head. "I don't know and I don't intend to find out."

"And you sure will find out," said a voice from the staircase.

Will and Tessa whipped their heads around to see Mortmain standing there, a devilish grin plastered across his face. There was a shuffle of footsteps and Nathaniel Gray stood behind him, looking grim, a ghastly wound bleeding on his cheek.

"Where are the others?" Will said wearily.

"Oh, no worries, they're occupied upstairs. You'll never reach them before I finish you off," said Mortmain.

"I'll kill you before you can," Will snapped.

"No you won't," Nate chuckled darkly, "I'll kill you before you get the chance."

"You knew all along," Tessa said in a low voice, her gray eyes becoming stormier with rage.

"Of course I did, little sister," Nate taunted, and Tessa balled her hands into fists. "And once the Magister goes through you with his plans, then I'll have what I wanted. The fame, the glory. What more is there than that?"

"You disgust me," Tessa said, clutching her stomach. "You're not the cousin I once had."

"I'm not even your cousin, you stupid, little girl," Nate said through clenched teeth.

Will couldn't take it anymore. He was about to storm over and beat the hell out of Nate, when Tessa pulled him back by the shoulders.

"Will, don't," she warned, "he's not worth it."

"Tessa, this is the man that you thought was all your family, but was not," Will reasoned with her. "He practically sold you over to this horrible man. Are you really going to stand for this?"

"While this is all quite charming," Mortmain chimed in, "I would like to go forward with my plans."

"Plans?" Will asked. "What plans?"

"Hasn't she told you," Mortmain jerked his head towards Tessa, "she is to be my wife."

"You're what!?" Will shouted, and he could swear that everyone could hear them. He couldn't believe it. It was like believing the unbelievable, which was entirely impossible. From what he could gather, Tessa despised the man. If Will hated Mortmain before, he detested him ten times more. Will would never allow Mortmain to get his filthy hands all over Tessa. Will would do anything to protect her.

"I'm surprised she hasn't told you yet," Mortmain smiled. "I guess she doesn't love you then."

"You lie," Tessa said. "I love Will more than I could ever feel for you. And that will never happen." Will felt a flash of pride flow through him.

Mortmain rolled his eyes. "While I enjoy the theatrics, we must get along with the plan. And since I have the perfect audience, it is better that I do it sooner rather than later." His cold gray eyes were alight with dark pleasure. "You know what to do," Mortmain instructed to Nate. Nate nodded and stalked over to where Will and Tessa were standing. Will could barely control himself; anger coursed through his veins. Without even thinking, he punched Nate squarely in the face.

"Ow!" Nate yelled, and held his hand over his eye. Will took the opportunity to throw another punch at his stomach. Nate doubled over and Will grinned in triumph. His victory was short lasted though. Out of the blue, Nate side swept Will at the knees, and Will fell down, losing his hold on his sword again.

"Kill him!" Mortmain shouted at Nate. "Now!"

"Will!" Tessa shrieked. "Watch out!" Will looked up to see Nate swinging his own sword wildly around. Nate drove it down, and Will rolled painfully to the side. Nate brought it down, and Will lunged forward, tackling Nate down to the ground, his sword flying away. They began throwing kicks and punches at each other, not knowing who was winning this fight.

"Stupid boy, just kill him!" Mortmain cried in irritation.

"Not so fast," Tessa said from above. Will looked up to see her holding Nate at sword point. "If you touch Will, then I will be the one to kill you."

"You would never do that to your own cousin," Nate sneered. "You are just a whimp."

"I can prove you wrong," Tessa challenged, raising an eyebrow. Before she could attack him, a slender arm snaked around Nate's neck and jerked him painfully to the side. He yelped out, then collapsed, knocked out cold. Will and Tessa glanced up to see Edmund Herondale standing there, along with Jem, Magnus Bane, and the remainder of the Herondale knights.

"Stop there, or I'll unleash it," Mortmain said in a deadly voice.

"You are a traitor to the entire kingdom," Edmund said, stepping out of place. "How dare you work behind my back."

"You are pathetic king," Mortmain retorted, "and once I am in your place, this kingdom will be a lot better."

"That will never happen," Edmund said, shaking his head.

Mortmain let out a humourless laugh. "Of course it will, once I marry Tessa Gray. Or should I say Tessa Starkweather. Then once that happens, I'll have complete control over the kingdom." Tessa recoiled and snaked her arm through Will's.

"We won't let that happen," Edmund said in stern voice, to Will's surprise, and stepped forward.

Mortmain snapped his fingers, and then suddenly the wall with the slits on the opposite side began to open up. There was a rumbling, churning like noise that became louder and louder.

"I warned you to not step out of place," Mortmain said with a proud grin that made Will nauseous.

The noise became louder and something stepped into a light. It was a great beast, which Will could only discern the features by the torches at the side. He had never seen such a thing. It seemed made of cogs and gears, similar like the necklace that Tessa wore. It seemed to exude a dark aura around it. It was tall, nearly reaching the ceiling, and had weapons in place of hands and great horns atop its "head." It seemed neither dead nor alive. To Will's amazement, it seemed to move on its own.

"It's what I call an automaton, animated by dark magic," Mortmain said, answering to Will's burning question. "I created it. And there's no stopping it." He turned to face his terrible creation. "Kill them all."

The automaton sparked to life and charged straight at the knights, at an alarming speed. Will and Jem readied their sword, and simultaneously dodged to the side as the automaton rounded on them. It began to throw its swords, or hands, around, the knights beginning to drop down dead on the floor like flies. Magnus threw blue jets of fire straight at the clockwork creature, briefly startling it, though it was not sufficient time.

In a split second, Will and Jem climbed deftly up its back, as it was distracted with the others. They began hacking at it in a fury. Jem pointed out something close to Will, and Will saw. There was a metal sphere attached to its back, a dim purple hue glowing around it, almost black. Will automatically understood what Jem meant: this must have been the lifeline of the automaton. Will then thrust his sword straight at that point, hoping it would do something. He got nothing. He tried again, but he knew he had limited time. Still nothing.

"Will!" Tessa shouted from below.

"Tessa, get out of the way," Will said in sheer panic; he couldn't risk Tessa to get hurt.

"Will, listen to me," Tessa said adamantly. She reached around her neck and pulled off her clockwork angel necklace. "Use this." Will knew what she meant, and then it all made sense. She tossed it up towards Will, sending it flying in a perfect arc. Will caught it, then slammed it down straight through the purple sphere. The automaton violently jerked back and forth, and Will and Jem jumped off right in time to see it crumple to the ground. Will looked into his palm, and to his shock, the angel pendant was perfectly intact.

Mortmain mirthlessly laughed. "You thought it was so easy, didn't you? Wait until you see more." As if on cue, more automatons came reeling out of the opened wall. There were at least twenty of them, maybe even more. Will felt a horrible sense of dread go through him. But he would not give up. He would get through this, for Tessa.

They all ran towards the brawl, and once again the fight ensued. Will threw his sword in every direction, waiting for the opportune moment to use the angel to defeat one of the automatons. Unfortunatley, there were too many of them to the point that there was no time to even use the pendant. Will was feeling dreadful.

Then, there was a sharp cry of pain. Will spun his head around to see an automaton propelling its sword straight through somebody: Edmund Herondale. The automaton pulled back the sword, the point glistening in sticky, red blood. Will felt sick. He wanted to run towards his father and make sure he was fine, at the same time disable the automaton. He felt fiercely angry, which was rare on the behalf of his father.

"Stop," demanded someone from behind. Everyone did as told. It was Tessa. And even more to Will's surprise, she had a dagger pressed against her chest. "If this doesn't stop, then I will kill myself."

"You won't do that," Mortmain said, appearing beside her. "I won't allow it."

"I will do it before you can stop me," Tessa said. Will was amazed by her bravery, but wanted to stop her from doing something utterly stupid. She pressed the blade further, and a soft red spot began to show up on her white dress. Will couldn't bare to watch, as he felt pain in the same spot.

"No," Mortmain said, as he begun to reach out. Then suddenly, his face went slack and pale, and he fell face forward. Behind him, stood Jem, his sword dripping with fresh blood. He looked grim and tired, but nevertheless relieved. Will joined Jem by his side and kicked Mortmain over with his foot. The Magister was definitely dead.

At that instant, the automatons froze in their place and crumbled to the floor in the same manner that the first one did. Mortmain's cronies backed off to the side, terrified and afraid of what to do next. Without their man there, they were nothing. It seemed that the dependence of the men and the lifeline of the automatons were tied to Mortmain himself. With Mortmain now dead, these were deemed useless and collapsed alongside him. It was done. It was finally over.

There was a cough, startling Will. He glanced over the shoulder to see his father, still in the same prone position as before when the automaton attacked him. He numbly made his way towards Edmund Herondale, all his surroundings blurring around in his sides. All he could see was his father.

He reached him and knelt down by his side. There was a deep gash running alongside his torso. On top of that, he had several nicks and scratches all over his face and throat. His face was startlingly white, and his normal pale, blue eyes were beginning to get very cloudy. Will had never seen Edmund in such a horrible state.

"William, is that you?" Edmund choked out, blindly reaching out his hand.

Will took it and grasped it. "I'm here, father," he said as gently as possible.

"Good, good," Edmund muttered under his breath. "Son, I am so sorry for what I've done."

"Father, you don't –"

"No, let me finish." Edmund's voice seemed especially strained, as if it was draining every ounce of his energy to speak these words. "I have been an awful father and a fool. There is so much about me that I wish you would know. The kingdom… it's all my fault. If I wasn't so careless and reckless, none of this would have happened. I am a wreck, and don't prove me wrong. I have neglected my duties as a father to you and Cecily. Please tell your sister and your mother that I'm sorry and that I love them."

"Don't talk that way," Will said, tears brimming his eyes. "Save your strength."

"You know what's coming, William," Edmund said in a barely whisper, his eyes struggling to flutter close. "And I'm sorry about not believing in you and Tessa. She is truly an exceptional girl, and I should have seen that earlier, peasant or not. She has made you a better person, and I am proud of what you have become. Will, I want one last wish for you."

"What is that?" Will could hardly hear himself. As much as he detested his father before, he was now showing his true colours and seemed genuine.

"I want you to marry her, Will. For you and for the kingdom. I want you to rule Idris and take my place as king. Together, you and Tessa will be the greatest rulers ever. Do you promise me that you will do this, William?"

Edmund squeezed Will's hand even harder than before. Will looked at it, then shifted his eyes back to his father's, whose were closed now. "Yes, I do father."

"Good boy," Edmund exhaled, then loosened his grip from Will. It fell down limp by his side and he turned his head to the side. King Edmund Herondale was dead.

"Ave atque vale, father," Will said to his father. He rose from his position, determined to follow out his father's final wish: he would take on the responsibility of the kingdom and marry Tessa Gray.

* * *

**YAY WE'RE AT 300 REVIEWS NOW :D**

**So, there was a bunch going on in this chapter. And I'm sad to announce that this was the last chapter :( Kind of not very exciting, yeah. But, there will still be an epilogue, because let's be real guys, I can't end this story here, right? So I'll put that up soon :)**

**Review! You know the drill!**


	30. Epilogue

Within the next day, a funeral was held for Edmund Herondale. Prior to that, Will took immediate action to lock away Nathaniel Gray and the remainder of Mortmain's men away into an eternal prison. He even had Magnus help use his magic so they could never break out.

News of who Tessa truly one had spread across Idris like wildfire. Now, everyone knew the truth that a simple peasant girl living in a tiny town that no one knew about was a Starkweather. Will felt a bit relieved about this – it would make the ordeal a whole lot easier. It was amazing how fast people find out the things, Will thought to himself.

The entire kingdom was now in mourning. Although King Edmund was not their favourite, they had still tragically lost someone of the royal bloodline. Will knew that the weight of the kingdom rested on him, and he would fulfill his father's last wish.

People from all over poured in to attend the funeral. Much to Will's surprise, everyone from Blackfriars came, which truly touched him. His mother was there, and so were Cecily, Jem, Magnus Bane, and Tessa. For a big ceremony, it was quite short. Everyone said their remembrances, trying to keep out all the negatives from their speeches. Linette Herondale could barely contain her tears, as Edmund's death took the worst toll on her. Cecily and Will jumped in, although they were also on the verge of tears. Will couldn't even process what he was saying, but spoke the truth about his father.

They buried Edmund's body in towards the back of the Institute. There was a cemetery there, reserved primarily for the royal Herondale family and close acquaintances, though the latter was very rare.

People trickled in to say their final farewells to Edmund, and then left, leaving Will with his mother and sister alone. Cecily eventually took Will's hand and guided him away to leave his mother alone in mourning – it was too much of a sight to bear. They then returned back to the Institute, as Will prepared for the next stage in his life.

* * *

The next week went by faster than a blink of an eye. Before Will knew, it was time for his coronation. After a week of mourning, Will felt it was time for him to step up as king… Idris could not have a king forever.

When the day arrived, Will was both nervous and excited. On top of that, he had hardly seen Tessa, which saddened him. He was yearning for a chance to talk to her, but the past week was so hectic that he couldn't. After the coronation, he told himself. He had to talk to her, or at least talk to her.

Will was led to the throne room, which was completely redecorated. It was brighter than usual, and every inch of the stone walls were covered with tapestries with the Herondale crest of flying herons. It was too much to handle, but Will figured he could just ignore it. Will was dressed in knights armour and had a dark blue cape with the Herondale crest draped over his back. His mother, Cecily, Jem, Tessa, Magnus, the knights, and a few selected guests were there. Will tried to make eye contact with Tessa, but she looked distracted as he passed by her. He was desperate to go and run over to her right in the moment, but thought better of it.

Will walked down the aisle to the high throne on the far side of the room. The ceremony was conducted by one of the elders of the kingdom, Brother Enoch. He placed the elaborate crown, constructed entirely of gold and silver and bearing the Herondale crest, atop Will's head. He then handed Will the scepter that had been used for generations of his family. Will stood up to face the crowd, who burst out into a round of applause. Will knew the deal was sealed and he was officially the king of Idris.

After the ceremony was over, everyone dispersed. A reception was to follow later in the night, and Will took this opportunity to go speak to Tessa. There were to many people in the room, in which everyone wanted to talk to Will, and he had to wiggle himself out of it. However, much to his dismay, he didn't see her when he eventually got to the corridor outside.

Tessa had been given a guest room on the far side of the Institute, where all the guests were. Unfortunately, it was the furthest room away from the throne room, and was quite a trek. Will made his way through the winding, twisting corridors. He was almost to her room when he bumped into Tessa herself. He could hardly tell it was her; it were her beautiful gray eyes that gave her identity away. She was dressed in a dark travelling cloak and had her hood up, a knapsack dangling off her shoulder.

"Tess, where are you going?" Will said in concern, holding her by the shoulders.

"Home," Tessa said, avoiding his gaze.

Will's eyes widened in fright. "Home?"

"Yes, you heard me right," Tessa snapped. "I'm going back to Blackfriars."

"Tess, why? I thought your home was now here. With me."

Tessa sighed heavily and leaned against the wall. Her hood had lowered a bit and she looked at him squarely in the eyes, her own filled with desperation and longing. "I want to be here Will, but you are far too busy. Plus, you have the responsibility of the whole kingdom on you, and I would be a burden. I just don't want to be another thing in your way."

"In your way?" Will said in disbelief. "Tess, don't ever think of yourself that way. You mean the world to me, and you will never be a burden to me."

Tessa shook her head. "It's fine Will, really. I know you're just saying that. I'll just be on my way." She twisted her way out of his grip and turned to go back down the hallway. Will grabbed her by the hand and gently guided her around until they were standing face to face, a mere few inches from each other.

"Tess, when I say how much you mean to me, I mean it," Will said breathlessly. He took a deep breath in before saying what he had been wanting to for so long: "I love you, Theresa Gray. I love you so much, and you must understand this. I have loved you since I read those letters and discovered the girl behind those scrawled words. I knew it was wrong of me to do so, but I don't regret it. Reading your hopes, thoughts, dreams, I realised how similar we were. And I knew you were right for me. I have never wanted anyone else more than you."

"Will you can't –" Tessa started, but Will interrupted her; he was too much on a roll.

"I can't, but I do. I love you so incredibly much. It is going to be difficult running this kingdom and making it the best ever, while earning the respect we once had hundreds of years ago. But I want to be the king that changes things for the better. Of course, I can't do this alone, and I need someone by my side."

"Who?" Tessa asked, seemingly as much in a daze as Will.

"You," Will said with a half smile, and Tessa's eyes widened in both a mix of fear and amazement. "Marry me, Theresa Gray. Marry me, become the queen of Idris, and together we will live the happiest lives together."

Tessa was struck speechless and a long silence ensued. After a while, Will couldn't take it anymore.

"What do you say?" he finally said.

"Yes," Tessa said in pure joy. "Yes, I will marry you William Herondale. Even if I haven't said it that much, I love you with all my heart and want to share every word, every book, every moment of my life with you."

Will, in complete shock, opened his mouth. He then pulled Tessa closer to him, and collided his mouth with Tessa. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. They stood there in the spot for what seemed like forever, and all Will could think of was Tessa, knowing that he would be with her forever.

* * *

Wedding preparations started almost immediately. Linette Herondale was ecstatic when Will and Tessa broke the news to her, and straight away she began planning. It gave her something to occupy herself and keep her mind off of Edmund Herondale. Cecily was also excited and chimed in to help her mother.

Tessa spent most of her days with Will, and never tired of him. She was certainly looking forward to spending the rest of her life with him, knowing that she loved him completely and fully with all her heart. It was funny thinking that she hated him with a burning passion before, and how much their relationship blossomed since. There was no one else that she would ever want to be with. At the same time, she was nervous, more about becoming a queen. Unlike Will, she wasn't raised in a royal household, and didn't even know her true identity until only two weeks ago. She had trouble embracing it, and still knew that she was a simple girl from Blackfriars. Will also saw her as this, which made Tessa happier that he didn't love her for being a princess; just as Tessa, which she much preferred.

It was decided that Tessa would take over her duties as a queen once she and Will were married. Their wedding date was set a month from this day, though Tessa would have liked it to be sooner. Though, she understood that preparing for it would take a while and they were doing their best to have them married as quickly as possible.

Tessa had been spending a great amount of time with various people in the Institute. Linette Herondale wasn't as detached as people made her seem. She was quite friendly and acted almost like a mother whom Tessa had never had. Cecily reminded Tessa greatly of Will, although a bit more energetic and never seemed to tire out. Tessa was grateful that there was another girl in the castle she could be around. Jem was as sweet as he could ever be, and he accompanied her along with Will on tours around the castle and the small town that bordered the Institute. Will practically was with her all the time and they engaged in multiple activities, mainly in the library, but also in different affairs so Tessa could get a taste of what she would be doing once she was the queen.

About two weeks before the wedding, Tessa was sitting the library alone reading to herself when Jem entered. Will had been pulled to the side to deal with some of his responsibilities for the moment, and Tessa retired to her favourite spot in the Institute. When Will had told her that the there was a library in the Institute, he wasn't lying. It was much bigger than the tiny bookshop in Blackfriars, but Will was right about its limits. There were mostly books about Idris and other subjects that didn't interest Tessa, but there was a small section reserved for Will's (and Tessa's) likes. It was still sufficient, and Tessa loved it here nevertheless.

Jem had come up quietly that Tessa hadn't even noticed he was there until she looked up. Jem had been acting as a knight and an advisor at the same time, so surely his status would be boosted. Will would want that.

"Jem, you startled me," Tessa laughed. "What is it?"

"You are needed in the throne room," Jem said kindly. "There is a visitor here who wishes to see you."

"Me?" Tessa asked in confusion.

"Yes, and he is a bit of a cranky old man," Jem said with a smile, "so we best hurry." Tessa nodded and set her book down, following Jem out of the library and to the throne room.

Jem opened the doors and Tessa saw that Will was there, along with Cecily, his mother, and a man whom she had never seen before. He appeared to be very old, with a shock of white hair and matching white beard. He had wrinkles and dark gray, nearly black, eyes, and a face that seemed permanently twisted into a scowl. There was a flash of recognition when the man looked at Tessa, though that quickly faded away.

"Tessa!" Will exclaimed, then hurried over to her side. He guided her over to the man, and then said, "I would like you to meet –"

"Aloysius Starkweather," the man grumbled then held out his hand. Tessa reached out, and grasped her hand, surprisingly firm, and shook it. "Aloysius Starkweather of the kingdom of Alicante."

"You're my great-grandfather," Tessa said in astonishment. Never would she have ever imagined meeting her last living relative. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Don't call me that," Aloysius said with a wave of his hand. "We are family after all." He then smiled at her, which seemed to remove that scowl and brighten up his entire face with nostalgia. "By the Angel, you look just like my little Elizabeth. I knew she was alive after all this time, and it is truly a miracle that she survived that ordeal. Though, it is a tragedy that we all lost her later on. How she would have longed to meet you. And what a strong, beautiful young lady you have turned into. Your mother would be proud."

Tessa was at a loss of words, namely because she had no idea what to say to this man who was her great-grandfather and the king of Alicante.

"I must congratulate you on your engagement to William Herondale here," he said, gesturing to Will, who was still at her side. Will beamed. "What a fine young couple you two will make. I know you will both become the best rulers of Idris."

"Thank you," Tessa said numbly."

"I have come here with a proposition," Aloysius said, his tone more serious. "You are probably wondering why I'm here."

Tessa gave an almost imperceptible nod. Almost.

"As you know, the Starkweather kingdom is nearly in crumbles and my reign as king is nearing its end. It is just our luck that you are a Starkweather and that indeed the line is not over. Once you become queen, you must forge an alliance with Alicante. Strengthen the kingdom and ensure that it does not fall down. I know you have it in you, and I know that you can take over the task in shaping a better Alicante. There are no more who can rule the kingdom, and you are my only hope. You and Mr. Herondale here. So, could both of you do that?"

Tessa didn't know what to say, so she looked over at Will. He stared levelly back at her, keeping his face a careful blank. But Tessa knew what her response would be, regardless. "Of course we will. Even though I am still new to this whole royalty business, I know it is in my blood to rule. The safety and prosperity of my home kingdom are up to me, so we will."

Aloysius grinned, and Tessa, surprising herself, walked over to him and gave him a big embrace. He jerked in confusion, and then carefully returned it. Tessa was glad to know that she had a family out there that cared for her and would be there for her. Life was just getting better.

* * *

The wedding occurred as planned, and the turnout was much larger than expected. People from both Idris and Alicante had come. So had the villagers from Blackfriars, who were especially excited to see Tessa. Charlotte and Henry Branwell were the most thrilled and nearly cried when they saw Tessa. Even grouchy de Quincey and snobbish Camille were happy. Jem was there, grinning ear to ear, and Cecily was wearing her best dress.

Will was decked in traditional Herondale robes, dark blue that beautifully draped over him. He decided to leave the crown out for this occasion, as it would be too much of an annoyance to wear. Besides, the king didn't always wear the crown. Come to think of it, he only wore it when he was crowned.

Tessa wore a simple, but exquisite, periwinkle dress. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant knot in the back and decorated with tiny, white berries. She had decided not to wear dark blue, as it would clash with Will. Will thought periwinkle suited her better; it brought out the gray in her eyes even more, and she looked absolutely delightful.

She was walked down the throne room, where she met an overexcited Will at the thrones. Brother Enoch was there again, where he led the ceremony. He placed an intricate silver crown atop Tessa's head, then they said their vows, culminating in a kiss shared between the two of them. It was official: Will and Tessa were now the king and queen of Idris.

Almost immediately, King Will and Queen Tessa began to reform Idris, and Alicante for that matter. The people were no longer neglected, and Will and Tessa did their best to improve the impoverished conditions throughout. They made an effort to go out and meet the people, earning their approval. Soon, their ratings were boosted, and everyone loved the pair. Will knighted Jem to take over Mortmain's position, as Jem had done more than enough for the kingdom, and no one deserved the position more than Jem. Jem was thrilled about this, and now Will and him could spend more time together, working in close quarters. Together, the lot of them enforced laws to allow the practice of magic, as long as it was done for the better, not for bad reasons. Magnus was happy about this, for he no longer had to hide his status. Blackfriars was now recognised as a proper town, and Tessa made sure she visited at least once a moth. People there took to her new role nicely, and there was no animosity.

Idris and Alicante were once again the best kingdoms they could be and were thriving in their new atmosphere. Things could never be better. So all was good.

And Will and Tessa lived happily ever after.

* * *

**That's a wrap! And this concludes _Forbidden Love_. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS DONE! This is like the first time I've actually finished a story on this site hehe. This story has been my little baby for the past three months. And just in time. I started school today, and I'm glad that I was able to post this before things got super crazy.**

**SO THANK YOU. ALL OF YOU. You all are the best! Thanks to the people that reviewed. That includes you, guest reviewers! I can't thank you all enough, because if it wasn't for you, this story would not be where it is now. And also to those that favourited and followed. It's what motivated me :P**

**Yay! So I still have _Beautiful Horrors_, which I'm writing with foolishmundanes, and _A Year Abroad_ to work on. And I might write a story set in this same universe. It will just be a collection of mini stories with all of the characters: Will, Tessa, Jem, Cecily, etc. But that's only if you guys are interested. It's all up to you! Let me know!**

**Thank you guys again! I love you all!**

**Toodles!**

**~ The Pale Red Queen :)**


End file.
